NSC idle despite security challenges

PILDAT says top civilian-led national security body fails to meet even once in the past year

ISLAMABAD:

The National Security Committee (NSC), the country's top civilian-led forum for security policymaking, did not meet even once in the past year, marking an unprecedented lapse in its functioning, according to the annual performance review issued by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT).

The annual performance evaluation of the NSC conducted by PILDAT for the timeframe from March 5, 2024, to March 4, 2025, highlights a disturbing trend in the governance structure.

Established in 2013, the NSC did not convene a single meeting throughout the year—making 2024-25 the first time in history that the committee remained completely inactive.

While the federal cabinet regularly meets, there was no indication either that the cabinet committee on defence which provided such a forum before the creation of NSC, has been re-operationalised.

The report noted that former premier Nawaz Sharif, during his tenure from 2013-17, convened only eight NSC meetings, while Shahid Khaqan Abbasi – during his tenure of August 2017-May 2018 – significantly increased the frequency, averaging nearly 10 meetings per year.

Imran Khan – prime minister from 2018 to 2022 – averaged approximately three NSC meetings annually, whereas Shehbaz Sharif, in his previous tenure from 2022 to 2023, convened an average of five per year.

However, in the past year (2024) of the current PML-N-led coalition government, which took office in March 2024, the NSC has not met a single time.

The absence of NSC meetings is also reflected in the government's responses to security incidents. Instead of convening the NSC, the government seems to have relied on military-led forums such as the corps commanders conference and the apex committee of the National Action Plan.

This has further sidelined the NSC's role in structured policymaking, the report noted.

The report pointed out that another critical concern was the continued absence of a national security advisor (NSA), leaving a strategic vacuum in Pakistan's security policy framework.

In contrast, countries with established national security mechanisms, such as the United Kingdom, ensure regular NSC meetings, often on a weekly basis, to proactively manage security risks.

"PILDAT believes Pakistan's lack of an institutionalised national security approach weakens democratic oversight and limits the country's ability to respond effectively to security threats through structured consultations."