ISLAMABAD: As the government continues to deliberate upon the formal notification of the newly created office of the Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF), plain reading of the recent amendments suggest that no legal deadline exists for issuing the notification, nor does any delay create a constitutional or administrative vacuum.
The Pakistan Army remains fully under the command of the incumbent Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), who currently also holds the rank of Field Marshal under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, enjoying the immunity and protections granted therein.
The Pakistan Army (Amendment) Act, 2025- designed to align the Army Act with the 27th Amendment- explicitly provides that the tenure of the Army Chief will recommence only once the notification establishing the dual office of COAS concurrently as CDF is issued.
According to the amendment, the first appointment under the redesigned structure will begin a fresh tenure, which, read together with the constitutional amendment, effectively grants the incumbent a full five-year term beginning from the date of notification. The law makes clear that the existing tenure of the sitting COAS will be “deemed to have recommenced” from the day the notification is published.
The recent legislation avoids any compulsory timeline for issuing the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) notification, thereby allowing the government and military command flexibility in phasing the transition. Until the notification is issued, the Army Chief continues to exercise full authority with no interruption in command or operational control.
The amendments also abolish the office of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, replacing it with the Commander National Strategic Command, who will function under the authority of the newly created Chief of the Defence Forces. The Commander’s appointment, reappointment, and extensions - each for a three-year term - have been placed entirely under the discretion of the prime minister, shielded from judicial review.
The government maintains that these changes aim to ensure “multi-domain integration, restructuring and optimum jointness” within the armed forces - objectives spelled out within the amended section 8A of the Pakistan Army Act.
With the constitutional and legislative framework now in place, all eyes remain on the government’s pending notification which, once issued, will formally inaugurate the new command structure and reset the Army Chief’s tenure under Pakistan’s new defence architecture.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif dismissed speculation about a notification for the appointment of the CDF, saying the announcement will be made in due time. The government introduced the CDF post through the 27th Constitutional Amendment earlier this month.
“There is unnecessary and irresponsible speculation about CDF notification. Please be informed that the process has been initiated. PM is returning shortly,” Asif wrote in a post on X.
The defence minister said a notification in this regard would be issued in due course, emphasising that there was “no room for conjecture”.
