Naval Strategic Forces Command (Pakistan)

The Pakistan Navy Strategic Forces Command (reporting name: NSFC), is a strategic and missile formation of the Pakistan Navy. Headquartered in Navy HQ in Islamabad, the strategic command controls sea-based guided and cruise missile system— both conventional and nuclear.

Formation was organized in 2004 based on and influenced from the army's formation in 2002, and is responsible only for sea-based strategic nuclear deterrence, which the Pakistan's government identifies it as "custodian of second-strike capability.

History
Before 2000, the Pakistan Air Force had an effective and operational controls over the deployment, target selections, intelligence, computers and interoperability of the nation's strategic deterrence through its own strategic formation. Protecting Pakistan's maritime border became a realization after the short-lived border conflict with India in 1999 when Pakistani war strategists working at the Joint Staff HQ in Rawalpindi pointed that if the conflict would have entered in conventional scale, it would put Pakistan under serious disadvantage.

As early as 2001, the Pakistani military strategists began to explore the idea of sea-based "Second strike" under navy rather than air force's control. The Navy HQ worked with the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi on establishing the sea-based deterrence and decided to commit greater resources for its development; consequently, tactics and strategic planning of Navy also underwent a shift.

In 2000, the work on establishing the formation was started under the watchful guidance of Adm. Shahid Karimulla, who was then-Chief of Naval Staff, and strongly advocated for the pursuit of idea of "Second strike". Admiral Karim rationalized that "since the Navy had been considering the deployment of nuclear weapons aboard its submarines-- it had to keep pace with developments in India." Although, Admiral Karim later left the option open, saying that the country had no plans to deploy nuclear weapons on its submarines, and that it would do so only if "forced to".

In 2004, the formation was established within the Navy which was based on the army's strategic forces command, and inaugurated its first headquarters in 2012 with Vice-Admiral Tanveer Faiz becoming its first commander.

The military media command, the ISPR described the NSFC as the "custodian of the nation's 2nd strike capability, will strengthen Pakistan's policy of Credible Minimum Deterrence and ensure regional stability."

Employment
Besides the Pakistan Army's strategic formation, the Naval Strategic Forces Command is the only military formation that maintains and controls the employment of the transporter erector launchers, which is a primary ground-based delivery system for coastal defenses only. The Naval Strategic Command is distributed among the Pakistan Navy's missile regiment and the air defense battalions of the Pakistan Marines, focusing on the southern border.

The Navy's strategic formation is largely viewed as second-line capabilities that complement the principal land-based systems operated by the Army Strategic Force Command.