- Army Chief was himself present in the session
ISLAMABAD, November 27: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has prepared a fresh summary of notification to grant Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa extension in his service tenure hours after the Supreme Court raised several objections over procedural flaws in the making of the previous drafts.
Summary, the third such draft prepared by the government, will be presented to the top court after formal approval by the federal cabinet.
The decision was made following a high-level government huddle at the Prime Minister Office, called to deliberate upon the apex court’s proceedings.
General Qamar, present on the occasion, was also consulted on objections raised on the summary by the apex court.
The government’s legal team briefed Prime Minister Imran Khan and his cabinet over objections raised by the apex court during today’s hearing.
The government has replaced the word “reappointment” with “extension in service” in the new summary, sources told Express News on Wednesday.
The amendment was made in light of the apex court’s order, they added.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar and Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari among other PTI leaders attended the meeting.
Gen Qamar’s counsel former law minister Farogh Naseem, Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan, senior PTI leader and legal expert Babar Awan as well as law secretary were also present.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran has convened the PTI parliamentary party’s meeting at 6pm on Thursday. “Political, economic and security situation will be discussed at the meeting,” said sources.
All parliamentarians are directed to ensure their presence at the meeting.
Army Act in focus as SC adjourns hearing of General Bajwa’s tenure extension
In a rare move, the top court on Tuesday had suspended until today a government notification of reappointment of General Qamar, who was due to retire on November 29, for another three-year term. According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on November 21, the Continued notification for General Qamar’s reappointment was issued on August 19, which said that he would continue to serve as the COAS until November 2022.
While hearing a petition challenging the government’s move earlier in the day, Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa had suggested that the government should asses “what it is doing”.
Observing that the matter of an army chief’s tenure is extremely important and a few generals have granted themselves extension in the past, the chief justice said: “We will carefully look at this issue so that this does not happen in the future.”
“This is an extremely important issue and the Constitution is silent on it,” added Justice Khosa.
During the proceedings, Attorney General (AG) Anwar Mansoor Khan also read the oath taken by military officers.
“The oath of an officer says that they would sacrifice their life if need be and this is very significant. ‘I will never be involved in any political activities’, this is also part of the oath and it is good to stay away from such activities,” said Justice Khosa.-Agencies
