ISLAMABAD: Three private member draft pieces of legislation may land in the Senate soon, seeking to abolish the powers of a prime minister to retain retiring services chiefs and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Submitted to the Senate Secretariat by Jamaat-e-Islami’s firebrand Senator Mushtaq Ahmad from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the three bills seek the reversal of a law that allows either re-appointment or extension in the tenure of all services chiefs and the chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
These bills are: the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill, and the Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill. The JI legislator has separately submitted notices in the office of the secretary Senate for moving amendments to the existing laws on the floor of the Senate.
It may be recalled back in January 2020, following unprecedented glitches in the way of extension in the term of the then Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the parliament had approved three bills that set a higher retirement age for the chiefs of the Pakistani Army, the Navy and the Air Force, making it the prime minister’s discretion to extend their terms. The country had witnessed a surprise legal crisis over an extension in the term of its Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
The Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill seeks to amend the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 by omitting Sections 8B and 8E in the law. Similarly, the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill and Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill sought to amend the Pakistan Air Force Act, 1953 and Pakistan Navy Ordinance 1961 respectively by omitting different sections in these laws.
According to the statement of objects and reasons of the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill in the year 2020, the Pakistan Army Act was amended and provisions were inserted for extension in services of the army chief and chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. “Keeping in view the meritorious appointment and promotion of young blood within the Pakistan Army leadership, the provisions related to the extension of these two offices are proposed for the omission,” it says.
The statement of objects also underlines the role of the Pakistan Army in giving services and sacrifices for the sake of the safety and security of the country since its inception. “There is no denying the fact that the Pakistan Army has made us feel secure within the borders and tried their level best to combat existential threats, both conventional and non-conventional,” it underlines. It acknowledges the fact that the Pakistan Air Force Act and Pakistan Navy Ordinance were amended in 2020 for the re-appointment or extension of services of both air and naval chiefs. “Keeping in view the meritorious appointment and promotion of young blood within the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy leadership, the provisions related to the extension and re-appointment of these two offices are proposed for emission, both the bills say.
Two days prior to the retirement of General Bajwa on November 28, 2019, a legal crisis over his extension remained the focus of attention following the suspension of his extension orders by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the events afterwards. Arguably, this was the first such case in the judicial history of Pakistan that has seen an extension in the army chief’s term in the past as well. Just ahead of three months before General Bajwa’s three-year term expired, the then prime minister Imran Khan’s regime had issued him a three-year extension in service, citing an emergency in the regional security situation.
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