Why Pakistan overhauled its military command structure after five decades

Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistan’s parliament in late August passed legislation that, for the first time, spells out in statute the powers of the country’s most senior military office, continuing a restructuring of the military’s command structure that began with last November’s 27th constitutional amendment.The National Assembly on August 20 approved the Defence Forces of Pakistan Act, 2026, and an amendment to the National Command Authority Act, 2010. Together, the two laws give legal shape to the office of the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), created through that amendment last year.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4How Pakistan’s Asim Munir became Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’list 2 of 4India to Iran: How two wars shaped rise of Pakistan’s Asim Munirlist 3 of 4Will Pakistan’s defence overhaul strengthen or upset its military balance?list 4 of 4How would Pakistan’s 27th Amendment reshape its military and courts?end of listThe bills were not on the National Assembly’s original agenda; the cabinet cleared them that morning, and they passed within hours. The 27th amendment moved through parliament in a similarly compressed timeframe last November.The changes come just o...