As a part of its yearly routine, PILDAT reviews the performance and effectiveness of Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC) during the second year of the PMLN-led coalition government which concluded on March 5, 2026.
In its annual review of the NSC, PILDAT has noted that while the Committee was convened on three occasions during the year, its functioning remained largely episodic and reactive, triggered primarily by acute security crises. The April–June 2025 meetings, convened in response to the Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and subsequent cross-border escalation, underscored the NSC’s critical role in facilitating civil-military consultation and coordinated national responses. The June 2025 meeting further demonstrated the NSC’s capacity to assess broader regional developments, including the Israeli military strikes on Iran, highlighting its potential as a platform for strategic deliberation beyond immediate bilateral crises.
Despite these instances of activation, PILDAT’s review indicates that the NSC’s overall use remained irregular. For example, the NSC did not meet even once during the on-going serious security crisis following the attack on Iran by the US and Israel on 28th February 2026.
In general, the Committee continues to function primarily as a crisis-response mechanism rather than as a regular forum for continuous strategic assessment. The National Security Division (NSD), intended to provide analytical and operational support, remained underutilized due to the irregular and scant NSC meetings. 
PILDAT recommends that the NSC be institutionalized as a regular forum for strategic civil-military consultation, with monthly meetings to proactively review domestic and international security developments. The NSD’s analytical, operational, and coordination capacities should be strengthened to ensure that high-level national security deliberations are supported by evidence-based analysis and long-term strategic planning.
NSD is also entrusted with the responsibility to regularly update the National Security Policy every year but the policy, which was unveiled in 2022 and meant to cover the period of 2022-2026, has not been updated even once. It is also not clear whether the current government continues to own the policy formulated during PTI-led government.
It is also critical to reaffirm the NSC as Pakistan’s principal platform for strategic national security decision-making and clearly delineate its role in relation to parallel committees to avoid duplication and enhance accountability.
The second year of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s term reflects a national security architecture that remains structurally sound but the NSC being largely operationally reactive. Regularized, forward-looking NSC deliberations are essential to enhance coordination, policy coherence, and strategic foresight, ensuring that Pakistan can address evolving regional and global security challenges effectively. To read the complete report, click on this link.