Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the promotion, making Lt Gen Aamer Raza the first officer to lead Pakistan’s newly created National Strategic Command.
Islamabad, Pakistan – Web Desk: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved the promotion of Lieutenant General Aamer Raza, currently serving as the Pakistan Army’s chief of general staff, to the rank of four-star general, appointing him as the country’s first Commander National Strategic Command (CNSC), the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Friday.
The elevation places General Raza at the head of a newly created military post responsible for overseeing Pakistan’s nuclear command structure, a role that had previously rested with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, a position that has since been abolished as part of broader reforms to the armed forces’ chain of command.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Shehbaz Sharif personally congratulated the newly promoted general following the announcement and extended his best wishes as the officer takes on the significant new responsibility.
General Raza brings a distinguished service record to the position, having previously been decorated with the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) and the Sitara-i-Basalat, awards recognising military excellence and valour respectively. His prior role as chief of general staff placed him among the senior-most officers within the Pakistan Army’s leadership structure.
The Commander National Strategic Command post was established under the 27th Constitutional Amendment passed last year, which introduced sweeping changes to how Pakistan’s military chain of command is organised. As part of those reforms, the newly created position took over the nuclear oversight functions once held by the CJCSC, whose office was formally dissolved.
Under the amended framework, appointments, reappointments, or extensions to the CNSC office rest solely on the recommendation of the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), another post introduced by the same constitutional amendment to unify command across all three services. The legislation also stipulates that decisions relating to the CNSC’s appointment or tenure cannot be challenged in any court on any grounds.
Field Marshal Asim Munir, who also holds the position of Chief of Army Staff, was appointed as Pakistan’s first Chief of Defence Forces last year following the passage of the 27th Amendment, cementing the restructured command hierarchy that now places General Raza’s new role directly under his oversight.
The appointment marks a significant step in the operationalisation of Pakistan’s revamped military command system, with observers likely to watch closely how the newly unified structure functions in practice as the country continues to implement the amendment’s broader institutional changes.
