Pakistan Defence Minister tables Army Chief tenure Amendment Bill in Parliament

The Imran Khan government on Friday tabled the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in parliament after the two main opposition parties assured they would support it.

The amendment is expected to provide clarity on future extensions to the tenures of army chiefs. According to the bill, the army chief’s extension will not be challengeable in any court of law in the future. It also states that the matter of an army chief’s extension “shall not be called into question before any court on any ground whatsoever”.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has offered its “unconditional support” to the amendment, while all the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has asked for is that “the democratic legislative process must be followed”.

Defence minister Pervez Khattak also presented in the lower house the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

As per the formula decided between the government and opposition parties, the standing committee on defence will review the amendments before they are presented in both houses for approval.

Prime Minister Khan said the decision to extend the tenure of Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has been taken due to the prevailing national security situation.

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