Pakistan grants Army chief unprecedented legal power over all armed forces

Pakistan's Parliament has, for the very first time in the nation's history, legally granted a single officer formal command over all three armed forces - the army, navy, and air force. This significant power shift is brought about by the Defence Forces of Pakistan Act, 2026, which was passed by the National Assembly in late August. With this legislation, Field Marshal Asim Munir has become Pakistan's inaugural Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), a role he holds concurrently with his existing position as army chief.

This is the most substantial restructuring of Pakistan's military command since 1976, surpassing the authority of the previously existing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. The new CDF role is not merely an upgrade in degree, but fundamentally in kind, as it carries statutory operational command across all three services and reports directly to the federal government. The CDF can enforce decisions, a power that the old coordinating post never possessed.

Retired three-star general Syed Asim Munir explains that the new law establishes a proper chain of command from the prime minister down to units in the field, something that had never been documented before. Another retired general, Naeem Khalid Lodhi, asserts that the CDF is now a "real commander," a description that would not have been applicable to the old coordinating post.

The Chief of Defence Forces is a new position that supersedes the old Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, a role that merely coordinated between the three services and lacked any real authority over the navy or air force. The CDF, however, possesses actual operational command across all three services, reporting directly to the federal government.

Opinions among analysts are divided on the implications of this change for internal military power dynamics. Pakistan's nuclear-forces command position must now be held by the army by law, closing off a role that the navy and air force could potentially have occupied before. A retired three-star general highlights the overall system as "unmistakably army-centric," while a former strategic planning official warns that career decisions across the navy and air force will now be guided by an army-led command.

Retired general Naeem Khalid Lodhi offers a contrasting perspective, stating that the CDF is now a "real commander" capable of enforcing decisions, unlike the old coordinating post it replaced. The question of whether this legislation weakens civilian oversight also remains a topic of debate. While some argue that the CDF can now dismiss officers by letter alone, without the cabinet summary previously required, others contend that Pakistan lacks an independent court capable of challenging the constitutionality of this arrangement.