NSC lacks strategic continuity: PILDAT

The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) has recommended that the country's National Security Committee (NSC) be institutionalised as a regular forum for strategic civil-military consultation. PILDAT released a report on the performance and effectiveness of the NSC during the second year of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's term, stating that the period reflects a national security architecture that remains structurally sound but operationally reactive. A PILDAT press release said the NSC continues to function primarily as a crisis-response mechanism rather than a platform for continuous strategic assessment, urging that it meet monthly to proactively review domestic and international security developments. According to the press release, the NSC was convened on three occasions during the year, but its functioning remained largely episodic and reactive, triggered mainly by acute security crises. "The April–June 2025 meetings, convened in response to the Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and subsequent cross-border escalation, underscored the NSC's critical role in facilitating civil-military consultation and coordinated national responses," it said. "The June 2025 meeting further demonstrated the NSC's capacity to assess broader regional developments, including Israeli military strikes on Iran, highlighting its potential as a platform for strategic deliberation beyond immediate bilateral crises," it added. PILDAT's review indicated that the NSC's overall use remained irregular. It noted that the National Security Division (NSD), intended to provide analytical and operational support, remained underutilised due to the NSC's infrequent meetings. "At the same time, increasing reliance on parallel coordination mechanisms, such as apex committees under the National Action Plan (NAP) and other high-level ad hoc meetings, has contributed to the dilution of the NSC's institutional prominence and strategic coherence," the statement said. PILDAT recommended institutionalising the NSC as a regular forum for strategic civil-military consultation, with monthly meetings to review security developments. "The NSD's analytical, operational and coordination capacities should be strengthened to ensure that high-level national security deliberations are supported by evidence-based analysis and long-term strategic planning," the press release stated. "It is also critical to reaffirm the NSC as Pakistan's principal platform for strategic national security decision-making and clearly delineate its role in relation to parallel committees to avoid duplication and enhance accountability," it concluded.