The government passed a series of bills in about 40 minutes, sparking heated reactions from the opposition led by former prime minister Imran Khan. The chief of the Army General Staff, who was due to leave his post next year, will thus be able to remain in office until 2027. They have also increased the number of Supreme Court judges.
Islamabad (/Agencies) – Pakistan’s coalition government, led by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, has made a series of changes to legislation, extending the mandate of the heads of the armed forces from three to five years and increasing the number of Supreme Court judges. The approval was verified yesterday during a controversial parliamentary session characterized by protests by the opposition led by the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf), the party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Local media highlighted that all the amendments were approved by the National Assembly and the Senate in 24 and 16 minutes respectively, without the possibility of debate and in the absence of both the president and the vice president of the Senate. In protest, some PTI MPs shouted slogans and broke the laws in the premises. Omar Ayub, former secretary of the party, leading the parliamentary group, declared that legislative activity without debate “benefits neither the country nor the armed forces.” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar responded instead that extending the mandates could bring “stability and continuity to policies within the institutions.”
After years of military dictatorships, Pakistan’s armed forces have continued to maintain a leadership role within the power dynamic. Commentators believe that Imran Khan, imprisoned for more than a year, was ousted as prime minister in 2022 when he lost the support of the army. PTI members, despite their landslide victory in the legislative elections held in February this year, were marginalized thanks to an alliance between the country’s two historic rival parties, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
With the changes in the Pakistan Army Act, which dates back to 1952, the tenure of the chiefs of the armed forces will begin from the day of their appointment and the retirement age limit set for generals will no longer be taken into account. in 64 years. In this way, the current Chief of Army Staff, General Asim Munir, whose mandate would have expired next year, will be able to remain in office until 2027.
Parliament also passed a series of laws that will increase the number of Supreme Court judges from 17 to a maximum of 34 and from 9 to 12 for the Islamabad High Court. Justice Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar explained that this measure will serve to reduce the backlog of pending cases, but the opposition believes that it is just another attempt to counter the popularity of Imran Khan. The Supreme Court had called for his release and a UN commission of experts also stated that the former prime minister’s detention was illegal.
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