Template:Infobox US NavyThe Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) of Pakistan is, in principle, the highest ranking military officer in the Pakistan Defense Forces, and the principle military advisor to the Prime minister of Pakistan, Parliament of Pakistan, and the National Security Council. However, the de-facto power lies with the Chief of Army Staff, as can be seen by the number of times the Army Chief of Staff has overthrown the government and declared himself the ruler of the country. The Chairman outranks all respective heads of each service branch but does not have operational command authority over them or their service branches. General Pervez Musharraf is the only military officer, who as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Army Chief of Staff, overthrew the democratic government of Prime minister Nawaz Sharif on October 12, 1999 (See 1999 Pakistani coup d'état),
The Chairman leads the meetings and coordinates the efforts of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), comprising the Chairman, the Chiefs of Staff of Pakistan Army and Chief of Air Staff of Pakistan Air Force, the Chief of Naval Staff (Pakistan)|Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan, and the Commandant of the Pakistan Marine Corps. In Pakistan, the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee is a important highly prestigious staff assignment in Pakistan Armed Forces, but the chairman does not have any command authority over combatant forces. While, the chiefs do have authority over personnel assignments and oversight over resources and personnel allocated to the combatant commands within their respective services.
The Chairman may also transmit communications to the combatant commanders from the Prime minister and President as well as allocate additional funding to the combatant commanders if necessary. The Chairman is nominated by the President, on the advise of Prime minister. Unlike United States's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the appointment does not confirmed via majority vote by the Parliament. By statute, the Chairman is appointed as a four-star general, four-star air chief marshal or admiral.
The post of CJCSC was created by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in March 1976, and the first chairman was General Muhammad Shariff. The current holder of the office is General Khalid Shameem Wynne.
