PM Imran chairs meeting of National Command Authority in Islamabad

Meeting of the National Command Authority was held at the Prime Minister's office.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Prime Minister Imran Khan has chaired a special meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA) which oversees the operational command and control of the country’s nuclear arsenals today (Wednesday).

The meeting of the National Command Authority was held at the Prime Minister s office. Prime Minister Imran Khan had summoned the meeting in the wake of violation of Line of Control (LoC) by Indian Air Force.

The meeting was attended by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Zubair Mahmood Hayat and Army Chief General Qamar Javaid Bajwa. Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, heads of sensitive institutions, security officials, Director General Strategic Plans Division were also present in the meeting.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Federal Minister for Defence Production Zubaida Jalal and Finance Minister Asad Umar also participated in the meeting.

Military officials briefed the Prime Minister on professional preparations of Pakistan Army. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi briefed on his contacts with the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and officials other countries and international organizations.

The meeting also reviewed the command and control system of Pakistan and the country s overall security situation. Political and military leadership also considered various options to respond to India s Line of Control (LoC) violation.

What is National Command Authority

National Command Authority (NCA) is Pakistan s principal decision making body on nuclear issues. The NCA consists of an Employment Control Committee and a Development Control Committee, as well as the Strategic Plans Division which acts as its Secretariat.

The Employment Control Committee is chaired by the head of the Government (presently Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan) and includes the Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Deputy Chaiman) Defence, Interior, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), Services Chiefs, Director-General of Strategic Plans Division (Secretary) technical advisers and others, as required by the Chairman.

The Development Control Committee is also chaired by the head of Government and includes CJCSC (Deputy Chairman), Services Chiefs, Director-General of Strategic Plans Division and representatives of the strategic1organizations and, the scientific community. This Committee controls the development of strategic assets.

The Strategic Plans Division, headed by a senior army officer, was established in the Joint Services Headquarters under the CJCSC to act as the Secretariat for the NCA and perform functions relating to planning, coordination, and establishment of a reliable command, control, communication, computers and intelligence network.