Sir: The recent clashes on the Line of Control (LoC) and the Indian media hype against Pakistan have stirred the need to ensure all measures for strict defence and complete coordination between the civilian and military leaderships to pre-empt any adventure across the border. The Cabinet Committee on Defence is the supreme statutory policy level platform to officially discuss defence and external security matters, headed by the prime minister and with representation of the services chiefs and the ministers of defence, finance, interior, foreign affairs and other top echelons of the civilian and military institutions. After the inception of the third tenure of Mian Nawaz Sharif, so far the Cabinet Defence Committee session has not been convened. Both the PM and COAS have had a series of frequent meetings concerning necessary decisions on important occasions but a formal platform has not been utilised to facilitate the civilian and military leaderships for policy adoption according to the quickly changing geostrategic scenario. This has delayed many important matters regarding defence policy. It also shows the poor coordination between the civilian and military in the formulation of the defence policy according to current and future challenges. According to previous practice, the civilian government approves of the defence policy drafts presented by the military brass after proper consultation. In the wake of the recent incidents on the LoC, it is important that the PM, who also holds the portfolio of defence minister, summon the meeting to give a strong message of complete consensus between the civil and military leaders on defence to defy any external aggression. Prolonging the delay is not in the interest of the country as it may create confusion and misunderstanding, leading to mayhem. The previous PPP government also avoided summoning this meeting for unknown reasons while the current regime has still not given any significant and timely indicators to make functional the defence committee. In the backdrop of the recent border clashes with India and Afghanistan, the entire responsibility is on the shoulders of PM Sharif to pay immediate attention to the meeting. This will also provide a proper consultation for the formulation of the national security policy and finalisation of the national defence policy. In the presence of parliament, the defence committee can give solid policy guidelines and a timeframe to parliament to debate all other complex matters without annoying any single stakeholder in national security. These delays are not a good omen for national security in the formulation of the defence and security policies. If the PML-N regime intends to run the state of affairs in confusion, it will be fatal for the country. The Cabinet Committee on Defence is the highest statutory body to debate all measures related to defence and security needs, and necessary action to combat threats. Pakistan is facing crucial challenges externally and internally; the current scenario urges complete coordination between the civilian and military leaderships to combat the menace of terrorism with a joint strategy. MUHAMMAD FAROUK Islamabad