KEY POINTS
- Defence Minister clarified that the notification for Pakistan’s first Chief of Defence Forces will be issued after PM Sharif returns.
- Asif said the process has already been initiated and dismissed speculation as “irresponsible.”
- The CDF position replaces the abolished post of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif posted on X on Sunday that the notification for the country’s first Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) will be issued once Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif returns to Pakistan.
“There is unnecessary and irresponsible speculation about CDF notification. Please be informed that the process has been initiated. PM is returning shortly. Notification will be issued in due course of time. No room for any conjecturing. Period!” he wrote at 3:44 PM on Nov 30, 2025.
The CDF post was created under the 27th Constitutional Amendment and replaced the office of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), which formally ended on Nov 27.
While officials had expected the appointment notification to coincide with the abolition of the CJCSC post, it was delayed, raising speculation that Asif addressed in his social media statement.
Observers say the post is a key structural reform in Pakistan’s defence hierarchy, designed to streamline command and oversight of the armed forces under a single CDF reporting to the Prime Minister.
