Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
National Command Authority (Pakistan)
Federal authority of the Government of Pakistan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
The National Command Authority (NCA) is the authority responsible for safeguarding the national security of Pakistan through command, control and operational decisions regarding Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.[2]
Remove ads
With Prime Minister of Pakistan being its Chairperson, the NCA maintains and enhances the control and operational effectiveness of Pakistan's nuclear weapons stockpile and serves as a policy institute regarding weapons of mass destruction in Pakistan.[2]
Established in 2000 along with its secretariat, Strategic Plans Division, the NCA was a direct successor to the Air Force Strategic Command which was established by the then-Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim in 1983.[3]
Remove ads
Overview
Summarize
Perspective
The Government of Pakistan felt the need to establish an administrative authority after Pakistan's first publicly announced atomic tests, Chagai-I and Chagai-II, in late May 1998 at the Ras Koh Range in the Chagai Hills, and the Kharan Desert of Balochistan Province. The roots of such mechanism traced back to the 1970s when Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto authorized the atomic bomb project to keep the projects safe from being exploited, politicized, or infiltrated by enemy powers attempting to sabotage them.[4]
In April 1999, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Chief of Army Staff, General Pervez Musharraf developed a unified central command system to use nuclear and missile technology as part of the defence and security of nuclear assets under government control.[3]
The command was formally established on February 3, 2000, after approval by Pakistan's National Security Council.[1] The command compromises the Employment Control Committee (ECC), the Development Control Committee (DCC), and a Strategic Plans Division (SPD).[5] The Prime Minister— Chief Executive (Head of Government) of the country serves as its chairman while other members included the high-profile Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence (Military Production), Economic, Science, and Interior.[5] The DCC includes the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee (as deputy chairman of DCC), the chiefs of the armed forces, the director general of the SPD, and a "representative of the strategic organization and scientific community (science adviser)".[5][1] The Joint Staff Headquarters (JS HQ) served its combatant operational command.
Pervez Musharraf, as President of Pakistan, served as its first chairman. However, after the 2008 General Elections, Pakistani lawmakers introduced a new law which was passed unanimously by the Pakistani Parliament.[6] The bill placed the NCA under the Prime Minister’s authority.[2][4]
Remove ads
Organizational structure
Summarize
Perspective
The NCA consists of the following nine ex officio members:[7]
The DG of the NCA's Strategic Plans Division (SPD) is the ex officio Secretary of the NCA and the SPD functions as the NCA's secretariat.[7]
Decision making in the NCA takes place through consensus and, in the event that consensus is not achieved, then through voting, with each member having a single vote.
Remove ads
Subordinate Units
Summarize
Perspective
Strategic Plans Division
In 1990, the Combat Development Directorate was created by the Pakistan Army, with Major-General Ziauddin Butt becoming its first director-general.: xvii [9] The directorate concerning with nuclear weapons development and delivery mechanism reported directly to army chief or the chief of general staff.: 388 [9] The combat development directorate functioned until 1998 with Lieutenant-General Zulfikar Ali Khan its final director when the Strategic Plans Division was created as a secretariat of the National Command Authority in 2000.: x [9]
The directives of the National Command Authority are operationalized by the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) under the control of a Director-General at the rank of Lieutenant-General (Air Marshal or Vice-Admiral).[4] As of 2022, the director-general of the SPD is Yusuf Jamal.[10]
Army Strategic Forces Command
Naval Strategic Forces Command
Air Force Strategic Command
See also
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads