By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the conferral of Pakistan’s highest military award on General Syed Aamer Raza, the officer who last week became the first commander of the country’s newly established National Strategic Command, which oversees the operational integration of the nation’s nuclear-capable forces.
The president’s secretariat announced on Friday that Gen Raza would receive the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military), confirming the decision in a post on X. “The president has approved conferring Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) on Gen Syed Aamer Raza, the commander of the National Strategic Command,” the statement read.
The award adds to a decoration record that already includes the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) and the Sitara-i-Basalat, known as the Star of Valour, both conferred earlier in his career.
The honour comes barely a week after Gen Raza was elevated to the newly created post, in a move that completed a sweeping restructuring of Pakistan’s higher military command first set in motion by last year’s 27th Constitutional Amendment. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promoted him from the rank of lieutenant general and appointed him to the four-star position in the same announcement, with the National Strategic Command billed as the body that will bring the operational commands of the Army, Navy and Air Force’s strategic forces under one roof.
The post itself is a product of legislative change enacted in November last year. The 27th Amendment did away with the long-standing office of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, replacing it with two new roles: Chief of Defence Forces, and Commander of the National Strategic Command. Field Marshal Asim Munir became the country’s first Chief of Defence Forces under the revised arrangement, a position he holds alongside his existing role as Chief of Army Staff. General Shamshad Mirza had been the last officer to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs before the post was abolished.
Under the amended Army Act, the Commander of the National Strategic Command is appointed by the prime minister on the recommendation of the Chief of Defence Forces, drawn from among serving army generals, and serves a three-year term. Although the new command structure consolidates the strategic forces of all three services under a single officer, ultimate authority over nuclear policy and its potential use remains with the National Command Authority, which is chaired by the prime minister.
Gen Raza took formal charge of the command in a ceremony at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, where he was presented with a guard of honour. He went on to visit Yadgar-e-Shuhada, the martyrs’ memorial, laying a floral wreath and offering Fateha for fallen personnel, before calling on Field Marshal Munir at GHQ. The Field Marshal congratulated him on assuming the role and wished him success in his new responsibilities, according to the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations directorate.
In the days that followed, Gen Raza began a round of engagements with the heads of Pakistan’s other services, including a visit to Naval Headquarters, where he met the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Naveed Ashraf, for discussions on maritime security challenges and operational readiness.
Before his promotion, Gen Raza held the position of Chief of General Staff, the Pakistan Army’s principal operational appointment, in which he was responsible for overseeing the organisational changes required by the 27th Amendment. That period also encompassed the restructuring that followed last year’s conflict with India, including the establishment of the Army Rocket Force Command.
A cavalry officer commissioned into the 6th Lancers in 1988 after passing out from the Officers Training School, Gen Raza’s career has spanned command of an armoured regiment, an armoured brigade, an infantry brigade in South Waziristan, an infantry division, and Lahore’s IV Corps, to which he was appointed in the days following the unrest that broke out across Pakistan after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in May 2023. He has also served as director general of Weapons and Equipment, chief of staff at II Corps, and head of Heavy Industries Taxila, the state-run defence manufacturer. He is an alumnus of the Command and Staff College in Quetta and the National Defence University in Islamabad.
At the time of his promotion, Gen Raza ranked eighth on the Army’s seniority list of lieutenant generals.
With his appointment, Pakistan’s revamped strategic command structure is now fully in place: a dedicated four-star officer responsible for the country’s nuclear and strategic assets, operating within a military hierarchy that observers note is more centralised than at any previous point in the country’s history.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
