ISLAMABAD(National Times)-The National Assembly on Thursday passed two bills pertaining to the military and nuclear command structure in a session that saw the opposition staging a walkout and the PPP — an ally of the ruling PML-N — objecting to the manner in which the legislation was presented.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif presented the two bills — the Defence Forces Act, 2010 and the amended National Command Authority Act, 2010 — while the opposition walked out.

Meanwhile, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari raised objections to the way in which the bills were presented; however, the party lawmakers later voted in favour of the bills.

The bills were not on the NA’s agenda for today. Earlier in the day, they were approved by the federal cabinet meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The premier was also in the NA when the bills were presented and left after the NA’s approval for the legislation.

The session was adjourned till 11am on Friday.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) after the federal cabinet meeting said the bills had been prepared in continuation of the tweaks made to the Constitution under the 27th Amendment.

The Defence Forces Act, it said, “aims to determine the relevant administrative matters regarding the office of the Chief of Defence Forces and the Chief of Defence Forces Headquarters”.

Meanwhile, the amendments to the National Command Authority Act were described as “a necessary process” following the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

The 27th Constitutional Amendment, enacted in November last year, fundamentally altered Pakistan’s higher defence architecture by abolishing the office of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and creating the new position of chief of defence forces, concurrently held by the chief of army staff.

Field Marshal Asim Munir became the country’s first chief of defence forces following the constitutional changes.

The Amendment also resulted in the creation of the Commander of the National Strategic Command (CNSC) post, a four-star office that oversees the operational integration of Pakistan’s strategic forces.

Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had promoted Gen Syed Aamer Raza from the rank of lieutenant general and simultaneously appointed him as the country’s first CNSC.

Following his appointment, amendments in the National Command Authority Act, 2010, which still reflects the pre-27th Amendment military hierarchy, are needed.

Defence Forces Act, 2026

In the draft of the Defence Forces of Pakistan Act, 2026, a copy of which is available with Dawn, it was stated that the bill was designed to insert provisions to give effect to the Chief of the Defence Forces’s role as the commander of the armed forces.

“And to ensure multidomain integration, restructuring and optimum jointness of the Armed Forces,” the draft read.

According to the draft, the proposed act will enable the establishment of the Defence Forces Headquarters, which shall serve as the headquarters of the Armed Forces.

It added that the headquarters will be under the Command of the CDF, who will be the “principal military advisor” to the PM on national security, defence and all matters relating to the armed forces. CDF would have the operational command and control of the Armed Forces and will be “responsible” to the federal government for matters of command and control.

Outlining the power and functions of the CDF, the draft stated that the CDF “shall exercise such powers and perform such functions as are necessary for multidomain integration, operational cohesion, coordination and oversight of all matters which have joint, tri-services and strategic implications for the Armed Forces and national security of Pakistan”.

It added that the CDF has the authority to “retire, release, accept, or reject resignation of, or discharge from service, or retain in service, or relax age, or service limit of retirement” of those subject to the laws of the Armed Forces, but not those who were appointed under Article 243.

“Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the CDF may exercise such other powers and perform such other functions as the Federal Government may prescribe,” it read.

The draft further stated that the government and the CDF could issue instructions “from time to time” and amend rules and regulations to ensure the provisions of the proposed act.

In case any difficulty or inconsistency emerges, the proposed act added that the president may “by an order, remove such difficulty”.

Suspension of proceedings

Before the bills were presented, NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq had suspended the proceedings for 15 minutes due to the absence of ministers and parliamentary secretaries during the question hour.

At this, the speaker expressed displeasure. “If you are not going to take parliamentary business seriously, then there is no point in holding the question hour,” the speaker remarked.

The speaker particularly expressed displeasure at the absence of an official from the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination during question hour.

He directed that the secretary of the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination be summoned. “Even their staff did not deem it necessary to attend,” he noted.

The speaker also summoned the secretary and other officials of the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination.

“If they fail to attend in future, a privilege motion should be moved against the minister for Parliamentary Affairs and the concerned official,” he warned. Following this, the speaker adjourned the session for 15 minutes to allow all officials concerned to arrive.