PM should convene NSC meeting

Prime Minister Imran Khan has formed task forces on important matters that would give their in-depth studies and recommend the course of action to overcome the crises facing the nation. Opposition and some media persons have already started evaluating his performance, though he has been in the saddle for five to six weeks only. They do not realize that the challenges the country confronts are due to the flawed policies of the previous governments. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, army chief, naval chief and air force chief called on the Prime Minister to congratulate him. Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa had a few meetings to discuss matters of national importance. However, PM should convene the meeting of NSC comprising military top brass as well as civilian side i.e. foreign, defence, interior ministers and NSA, which would give him wider view and enable him to formulate security and foreign policy.
The PPP and PML-N had been averse to the idea of National Security Council; however, the first meeting of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) was held on August 22, 2013 under the new federal government led by Nawaz Sharif. It was a reincarnation of the National Security Council (NSC) established in 2004 by the Musharraf government under an act of parliament. Om fact, the NSC should meet on a regular basis rather than in an emergency situation only. In view of the belligerence of India and threats from Indian army chief, it needs to meet once a month, or more, if required. There must be a regular research support system under the NSA that provides insights into defence along with internal and external security. The NSA should maintain a link with the research centres/think tanks, the academia and others who work on these affairs.
The then COAS General Jehangir Karamat’s public pronouncement on the need to set up an NSC had irked the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who forced the COAS to resign. However, the then foreign minister Sartaj Aziz had complained about the interference of the army in his ministry, and convinced Nawaz Sharif to formalise the role of the army in formulating foreign policy, and limiting it only to the task of contributing its considered input through an act of parliament. The prime minister was to head the proposed institution comprising four ministers – foreign, finance, interior and defence and NSA. The three service chiefs as well as the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee were part of the NSC, and NSA was to head the planning committee of the NSC comprising the federal secretaries of foreign affairs, interior, finance and defence; the three intelligence chiefs – the MI, the ISI, and the IB.
But Musharraf’s coup on October 12, 1999 killed the proposal even before it could see the light of day. In 2004, Pervez Musharraf unfolded his own NSC proposal, which became controversial, as its membership had included all the four chief ministers, as well as the leader of the opposition. On the face of it, the composition of the NSC reflected a truly democratic character, but the then PPP-led coalition government never felt the need to convene the council meeting. As stated earlier, PPP and PML-N were against the concept of National Security Council, as they believed that by doing so they gave space to military. From 1997 to 1999, Nawaz Sharif had held only two such meetings, one after detonating the nuclear devices in response to India’s explosions. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif rarely called NSC meetings during four years of his third stint as prime minister.
However, PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had held regular meetings; first meeting was held on 17th August 2017 after he assumed office of the PM, followed by other meetings. Two meetings were held in May 2018 – one to consider Nawaz Sharif’s remarks about Mumbai attacks, and the other one to discuss matters of national importance. Presided over by the then Prime Minister Abbasi, the NSC meeting was attended by Defence and Foreign Minister Khurram Dastgir, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, National Security Adviser Retired Lt. General Nasser Khan Janjua, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Hayat, the director generals of Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence, and the three services chiefs. The country’s civil and military leadership unanimously rejected and condemned the statement of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the 2008 Mumbai Attacks, terming his remarks as ‘incorrect and misleading.’