Pak govt challenges top court’s decision

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government on Thursday filed a review petition against the supreme court’s verdict over army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa’s extension of service. The petition comes five days after a new chief justice took charge of the top court.

In the petition, the Imran Khan government has pleaded the court to form a larger bench to hear the case and requested it to hold the proceedings in-camera.

As per a judgment given by the supreme court earlier this year, Bajwa would have to step down within six months.

The petition states that the court’s verdict did not take into account “important constitutional and legal” points. It further argued that the court “has been giving extensions to additional and ad hoc judges”.

The supreme court had issued its detailed verdict on the extension of the chief of the army staff on December 16.

Back on November 28, the court, in a short order, had allowed the government to grant a six-month extension to Bajwa.

In the detailed verdict penned by justice Mansoor Ali Shah, the court had stated that the bench “explored the scope of Article 243 of the constitution, reviewed the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, and the Pakistan Army Act Rules, 1954”.

The verdict had noted that “no tenure or age of retirement for the rank of general is provided under any law. As per institutional practice, a general retires on completion of a tenure of three years; although institutional practice cannot be a valid substitute of any law.”

TALIBAN MEET THEIR TOP LEADER IN QUETTA KABUL/ISLAMABAD: Taliban members met the group’s top leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada in the Pakistani city of Quetta, during which they discussed a potential ceasefire with the US, a media report said.

A delegation from the Taliban’s office in Doha also participated at the meeting so that it could brief the US side in Doha about a final decision on the ceasefire, TOLO News reported.

“Discussions are underway to decide whether the ceasefire will be a short-term or a permanent one. However, a final decision has yet to be taken,” said Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban commander.