# Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee

The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) is, in principle, the highest-ranking and senior most uniformed military officer, typically at four-star rank, in the Pakistan Armed Forces who serves as a principal staff officer (PSO) and a chief military adviser to the civilian government led by elected prime minister of Pakistan and the National Security Council. The role of advisement is also extended to the elected members in the bicameral parliament and the ministry of Defence.$^{:42}$ The chairman leads the meetings and coordinates the combined efforts of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), comprising the chairman, the chief of the Army Staff and chief of the Air Staff and the chief of the Naval Staff, commandant of marines, director general Coast Guards and Strategic Plans Division, and commanders of the service branches in the Civil Armed Forces and the National Guard.$^{:145–146}$
Even as the principal staff officer (PSO), the chairman does not have any authority over the command of the combatant forces.$^{:145}$ The individual service chiefs are solely responsible for the coordination and logistics of the armed and combatant forces. Due to this constraint, the chiefs of army, navy and air force are much in command and control of their respected commands.$^{:146–147}$
The chairman's mandate is to transmit strategic communications to the combatant commanders from the prime minister and president as well as allocate additional funding to the combatant commanders if necessary.$^{:146–147}$ The chairman is nominated and appointed by the prime minister; and is finally confirmed by the president.$^{:147}$ 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. Although, 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 required, all four-star officers are required to have vast experience in joint uniformed services of Pakistan during their 40-year-long military careers.$^{:148}$
The post of CJCSC was created by the former prime minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in March 1976, and the first chairman was four star rank officer, General Muhammad Shariff. The current holder of the office is General Sahir Shamshad Mirza appointed in 2022.

## Appointment preferences

Despite the post of the chairmanship is bound constitutionally for the rotation, the army generals are strongly preferred for such post, despite coming short of their qualifications, by the civilian prime ministers in a view of stabilizing the civil military relations.$^{:229}$$^{:426–427}$
Unlike the American system where the balance is made between the branches of the U.S. military, the majority of the chairmen are appointed from the department of the army, superseding the officers in the navy, marines, and the air force.
In 1999, Prime Minister Sharif notably refused to appoint the senior most officer, Admiral Fasih Bokhari, to such post in favor of appointing junior-most officer, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. This action of Prime Minister Sharif led towards Adm. Bokhar revolting against this decision in public in 1999, creating strain in the relation between the civilian government and the military.
The four-star admirals in the Pakistan Navy have been notably superseded by the junior army officers, in instances took place in 2005 when Adm. Karim was superseded by junior-most Lt-Gen. Ehsan ul Haq and, in 2011 when Adm. Numan was bypassed in favor of Lt-Gen. Wynne. In 2014, the practice continued by the civil government when Adm. Asif Sandila was bypassed and overlooked when the junior most officer, Lt-Gen. Rashad Mahmood was eventually appointed as Chairman joint chiefs.
| Seniority in Navy's Candidacy for Chairman joint chiefs | Eventual Appointment for Chairman joint chiefs from Army | Year Zone of appointment |
| Adm. Fasih Bokhari | Lt-Gen. Pervez Musharraf | 1999 |
| Adm. Shahid Karim-ullah | Lt-Gen. Ehsan ul Haq | 2006 |
| Adm. Noman Bashir | Lt-Gen. K. Shamim Wynne | 2011 |
| Adm. Asif Sandila | Lt-Gen. Rashad Mahmood | 2014 |
Due to such preferential treatments given to army department, the retired admirals have given a strong criticism of such criterion, expressing their dissatisfaction towards the appointment processes.

## List of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee

| No. | Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Prime Minister |
| 1 | Shariff, MuhammadGeneral Muhammad Shariff NI(M), SI(M) (1921–1999) | 1 March 1976 | 22 January 1977 | 327 days | Pakistan Army | Bhutto, Zulfikar AliZulfikar Ali Bhutto |
| 2 | Shariff, MohammadAdmiral Mohammad Shariff NI(M), HI(M), SI(M), HJ, SJ, SK (1920–2020) | 22 January 1977 | 13 April 1980 | 3 years, 82 days | Pakistan Navy | Bhutto, Zulfikar AliZulfikar Ali Bhutto |
| 3 | Khan, IqbalGeneral Iqbal Khan NI(M), SBt (1924–2000) | 13 April 1980 | 22 March 1984 | 3 years, 344 days | Pakistan Army | *None 1977 – 1985 |
| 4 | Khan, RahimuddinGeneral Rahimuddin Khan NI(M), SBt (1926–2022) | 22 March 1984 | 28 March 1987 | 3 years, 38 days | Pakistan Army | Junejo, Mohammad KhanMohammad Khan Junejo |
| 5 | Rahman, Akhtar AbdurGeneral Akhtar Abdur Rahman NI(M), SBt (1924–1988) | 29 March 1987 | 17 August 1988 † | 1 year, 110 days | Pakistan Army | Junejo, Mohammad KhanMohammad Khan Junejo |
| 6 | Sirohey, Iftikhar AhmedAdmiral Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey NI(M), HI(M), SI(M), SBt (1934–2025) | 10 November 1988 | 17 August 1991 | 2 years, 280 days | Pakistan Navy | Bhutto, BenazirBenazir Bhutto |
| 7 | Khan, Shamim AlamGeneral Shamim Allam NI(M), SJ, SBt (1937–2021) | 17 August 1991 | 9 November 1994 | 3 years, 84 days | Pakistan Army | Sharif, NawazNawaz Sharif |
| 8 | Khan, Farooq FerozeAir Chief Marshal Feroz Khan NI(M), SBt (1939–2021) | 10 November 1994 | 9 November 1997 | 2 years, 364 days | Pakistan Air Force | Bhutto, BenazirBenazir Bhutto |
| 9 | Karamat, JehangirGeneral Jehangir Karamat NI(M), SBt (born 1941) | 9 November 1997 | 7 October 1998 | 332 days | Pakistan Army | Sharif, NawazNawaz Sharif |
| 10 | Musharraf, PervezGeneral Pervez Musharraf NI(M), TBt (1943–2023) | 7 October 1998 | 7 October 2001 | 3 years | Pakistan Army | Sharif, NawazNawaz Sharif |
| 11 | Khan, AzizGeneral Aziz Khan NI(M), SBt (born 1947) | 7 October 2001 | 7 October 2004 | 3 years | Pakistan Army | Jamali, Zafarullah KhanZafarullah Khan Jamali |
| 12 | ul Haq, EhsanGeneral Ehsan ul Haq NI(M) (born 1949) | 7 October 2004 | 7 October 2007 | 3 years | Pakistan Army | Aziz, ShaukatShaukat Aziz |
| 13 | Majid, TariqGeneral Tariq Majid NI(M), HI(M) (born 1950) | 7 October 2007 | 7 October 2010 | 3 years | Pakistan Army | Soomro, Muhammad MianMuhammad Mian Soomro Yousaf Raza Gillani |
| 14 | Wynne, Khalid ShameemGeneral Khalid Shameem Wynne NI(M) (1953–2017) | 8 October 2010 | 8 October 2013 | 3 years | Pakistan Army | Gillani, Yousaf RazaYousaf Raza Gillani Raja Pervaiz Ashraf Mir Hazar Khan Khoso Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif |
| - | Kayani, Ashfaq ParvezGeneral Ashfaq Parvez Kayani NI(M), HI(M) (born 1952) Acting | 8 October 2013 | 27 November 2013 | 50 days | Pakistan Army | Sharif, NawazNawaz Sharif |
| 15 | Mahmood, RashadGeneral Rashad Mahmood NI(M) (born 1953) | 27 November 2013 | 28 November 2016 | 3 years, 1 day | Pakistan Army | Sharif, NawazNawaz Sharif |
| 16 | Hayat, Zubair MahmoodGeneral Zubair Hayat NI(M) (born 1960) | 28 November 2016 | 27 November 2019 | 2 years, 364 days | Pakistan Army | Sharif, NawazNawaz Sharif Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Imran Khan |
| 17 | Raza NaveedGeneral Nadeem Raza NI(M), HI(M) (born 1965) | 27 November 2019 | 27 November 2022 | 3 years | Pakistan Army | Khan, ImranImran Khan Shehbaz Sharif |
| 18 | Shamshad, SahirGeneral Sahir Shamshad Mirza NI(M), HI(M) | 27 November 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 99 days | Pakistan Army | Shehbaz Sharif |

## Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by Branch of Service

* Army - 14
* Navy - 2
* Air Force - 1