The annual performance evaluation of the National Security Committee (NSC) conducted by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development And Transparency (PILDAT) for the timeframe from March 5, 2024, to March 4, 2025, highlights a disturbing trend in Pakistan’s governance structure.
The NSC, which was established in 2013 as the primary forum for national security ‘decision-making’, did not convene a single meeting during the entire year. 2024-25, therefore, became the first year since the formation of the NSC when the Committee did not meet even once, said a PILDAT press report issued Monday.
While the federal cabinet regularly meets, there is no indication either that the Cabinet Committee on Defence which provided such a forum before the creation of NSC, has been re-operationalised, it further saud. Former PM Nawaz Sharif, during his tenure from 2013-17, convened eight NSC meetings, while Mr. ShahidKhaqanAbbasi (during his tenure of August 2017-May 2018) significantly increased the frequency, averaging nearly 10 meetings per year. The successive prime minister Imran Khan (2018-22) averaged approximately three NSC meetings annually, whereas Mr. Shehbaz Sharif, in his previous tenure from 2022 to 2023, convened an average of five meetings per year.
