Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan is, in principle, the highest-ranking military officer in the Pakistan Defense Forces, and the principal military advisor to the Prime minister of Pakistan, Parliament of Pakistan, Ministry of Defence, and the National Security Council. The Chairman leads the meetings and coordinates the efforts of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), comprising the Chairman, the Chiefs of Army Staff and Chief of Air Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff.

However, even as the Principal Staff Officer, the Chairman does not have any authority over the combatant forces. The individual service chiefs are solely responsible for the coordination of the Armed and Combatant forces. Despite not being the highest-ranking officer, in Pakistan, the Chief of Army Staff is considered a powerful officer as can be seen by the number of times the Army Chief of Staff has overthrown the government and declared himself the ruler of the country. General Pervez Musharraf is the only military officer, who as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (note that he was also Chief of Army Staff at the same time), overthrew the democratic government of Prime minister Nawaz Sharif on October 12, 1999.

The Chairman may also transmit communications to the combatant commanders from the Prime minister and President as well as allocate additional funding to the combatant commanders if necessary. The Chairman is nominated by the President, on the advice of the Prime minister. Unlike United States's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the appointment of Chairman does not need confirmation via majority vote by the Parliament. Though, the appointment needs confirmation from the Prime minister. By statute, the Chairman is appointed as a four-star general, four-star air chief marshal and/or four star admiral. By law, all 4-star officers are required to have vast experience in joint uniformed services of Pakistan during their 40-year-long military careers.