One-Man Nuclear Command?

Pakistan’s Constitutional Amendment reshapes its nuclear architecture, placing unprecedented authority with CDF Asim Munir and raising fresh concerns for India, global stability and civil—military balance

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Munir's extended tenure turns Pakistan's nuclear posture into a personalised continuum rather than an institutional process

Pakistan recently centralised its nuclear command and broader military authority in the hands of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Asim Munir through the 27" Constitutional Amendment and related legal changes. ‘These changes weaken earlier, more distributed civilian-military oversight arrangements and formalise the Army's primacy over nuclear weapons policy and operations.

What exactly has changed

Historically, Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal was overseen by the National Command Authority (NCA), chaired by the PM, with service chiefs, key ministers, and the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) forming a collective decision-making body. The SPD acted as the NCA% secretariat, managing day-to-day nuclear planning, security, and operations under a structure that (at least nominally) mixed civilian and military voices.

‘The new 27th Amendment and associated defence reforms do this:

» Create a constitutionally empowered post of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), held by the Army Chief Asim Munir, and abolish the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, removing a previous collegiate check on the army chief.

» Establish a National Strategic (Command) head for nuclear forces, effectively subordinating nuclear research, development and deployment to the Army and the CDF, with the post reserved for an army officer.

» Replace or overshadow the earlier NCA model by vesting effective control of strategic assets in the CDF/Army Chief, including practical control over the SPD and appointments to its leadership, thus diluting the prime minister's prior casting-vote authority.