Parliament shall provide certainty to army chief's post with new law: SC
The Supreme Court on Monday released its detailed judgement in the case pertaining to the extension of Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, emphasising that it is now up to the parliament to carry out legislation that will provide "certainty and predictability" to the post of chief of army staff (COAS) for all times to come.
Prime Minister Imran Khan had extended Gen Bajwa's tenure through a notification in August, but the SC had suspended it on November 26 due to irregularities in the manner of extension. After three days of heightened uncertainty, the apex court, through a short order on November 28, had announced that Gen Bajwa would remain the COAS for another six months during which the parliament would legislate on the army chief’s extension/reappointment.
"We would like to emphasise that this crucial matter of the tenure of COAS and its extension, which has a somewhat chequered history, is before the Parliament, to fix for all times to come," wrote Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, a member of the three-judge bench which heard the case, in the court's 43-page judgement.
"It is now for the people of Pakistan and their chosen representatives in the Parliament to come up with a law that will provide certainty and predictability to the post of COAS, remembering that in strengthening institutions, nations prosper."
Both Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel and Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa agreed with Justice Shah's judgement, with Justice Khosa saying in his additional note that it had been a "shocking revelation" to the bench that the terms and conditions of service of the COAS, the tenure of his office, extension in the tenure of his office or his reappointment to that office "have remained unregulated by any law so far".
The court summarised its findings after exploring the scope of Article 243 of the Constitution which governs the army chief's appointment, reviewing the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, reviewing the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, the Pakistan Army Act Rules, 1954, and the Army Regulations (Rules). Some of the key points from the findings are:
The Pakistan Army Act, 1952, falls deficient of the structural requirements for raising and maintaining an Army under clause (3) of Article 243 of the Constitution.