Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announces that Lieutenant General Aamer Raza, Pakistan Army’s chief of general staff, is promoted to a four-star rank and appointed Commander National Strategic Command (CNSC), according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. The PMO says the prime minister congratulates the newly promoted general and wishes him success in what it describes as an important responsibility.
The CNSC post is created under Pakistan’s 27th Constitutional Amendment, which restructures the military’s chain of command. Under the amendment’s framework, the CNSC takes on the “nuclear manager” role that had previously been exercised by the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), a post that is abolished.
The PMO further states that appointments, reappointments, and extensions to the CNSC are tied solely to recommendations by the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF). It also notes that the amendment includes a clause preventing the CNSC’s appointment or related discretion by the appointing authority from being challenged in court on any ground. The amendment also establishes the CDF role, with Field Marshal Asim Munir appointed as the country’s first CDF last year.
