page_title: Sartaj Aziz
section_title: National Security and Foreign Adviser (2013 – July 2017)
hierarchical_section_title: Sartaj Aziz / Statesmanship / National Security and Foreign Adviser (2013 – July 2017)
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Pakistani Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz address reporters during a news conference in Islamabad on August 1, 2013. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
context_page_description: Sartaj Aziz is a Pakistani economist and a strategist, having previously served as the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of Pakistan, member of the federal cabinet as the de facto Minister for Foreign Affairs, a Federal Senator as well as the National Security Advisor.
  Born in north-western British India, as a student Aziz was an activist in the Pakistan Movement. Aziz went on to study economics at Punjab University and later studied public administration at Harvard Kennedy School. He served as a civil servant from 1952 to 1971 within Pakistan's federal government, also serving as the joint secretary in the planning commission between 1967 and 1971. In 1971, Aziz joined the Food and Agriculture Organization and served as its Director of Commodities, only to move to the International Fund for Agricultural Development where he served as the Assistant President, Policy and Planning between December 1977 to April 1984.
  Aziz returned to Pakistan in 1984 and served as a junior minister for Agriculture and Food Security until 1988 under the conservative Junejo administration.
context_section_description: In 2013, the PML(N) secured the landslide victory during the nationwide general elections, with overall ~50.1% of public mandate in the National Assembly. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved the appointment of Aziz to be elevated as National Security Adviser (NSA) on 15 May 2013. Aziz drafted and had it approved the new national security strategy, and announced a new policy framework.
  Appointed as National Security Adviser (NSA), Aziz held a meeting with Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid to discuss the situation in LoC. Aziz's three-day official visit also included meeting with Hurriyat Conference and Kashmir leaders. In early months of 2014, the PPP politicians began a protest at the Parliament over the foreign policy shift in regards to civil war in Syria. The protest took place after Saudi Crown prince Salman bin Abdulaziz visited Pakistan, and news channels widely broadcast the reports Saudi Arabia was in talks with Pakistan to provide anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets to the rebel. Delivering a speech at the National Assembly session, Aziz strongly rejected the speculations surfaced in the news channels regarding change in Pakistan's policy on Syria and linking it with the visit of Saudi crown prince. Aziz quoted: This impression is baseless and misleading that there has been a policy shift regarding Syria. Pakistan fully honours national and international laws in its agreements and sale of arms."
  On nuclear weapons policy, Aziz defended Pakistan's rationale of nuclear deterrence. Speaking at the general public in the United States Aziz explained Pakistan's nuclear arsenal policy: our (atomic) program is entirely deterrent in nature, in the sense that if India—we have to have enough parity to defend ourselves. And if we hadn't any nuclear weapons in 2002, after the parliament attack, we would have had a major war with India, and several other opportunities, so there's no question that nuclear capacity has given us some insurance, because our conventional capacity, the gap is increasing.
  In a wake of deadly Peshawar massacre in December 2014, Aziz visited Kabul and held a meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani where he emphasized on tighter "border control". In further talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Aziz widely quoted that "the military in Pakistan and security forces in Afghanistan have agreed to carry out coordinated operations against terrorists along the Pak-Afghan border.
  In October 2015, Aziz relinquish his post as National Security Advisor to Naseer Khan Janjua (a retired army general) which was viewed as to provide coordination between civilian Foreign ministry and the military on foreign policy issues, which were being ignored due to his hectic engagement as per demand of the dual offices, quoted by the officials in Islamabad. On 9 December 2015, Aziz hosted the Heart of Asia conference in Islamabad and met with Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj; Aziz also accompanied Sushma Swaraj to meet with Prime Minister Sharif. About the foreign intervention in Syrian civil war, Aziz explained Pakistan's policy on Syria in Senate in December 2015 that Pakistan is "against any attempt to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al Assad."
caption: John Kerry and Aziz address reporters during a news conference in Islamabad.
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