ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top court on Thursday granted a six-month extension to Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa’s term.
The Supreme Court initially blocked a three-year extension of Bajwa’s tenure by the government. The army chief’s term was to expire at Thursday midnight.
The court observed the extension was marred by procedural and legal errors and ordered the parliament to produce within six months new legislation to govern the process.
“We leave this matter to parliament to make law regarding this,” Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said on Thursday afternoon.
On Tuesday, the court suspended over procedural flaws the government’s notification of Aug. 19, extending the general’s term for another three years.
The chief justice told the court that Prime Minister Imran Khan had requested the reappointment of Bajwa, but President Arif Alvi had issued a notification for an extension of the general’s tenure. “They (the government) never bothered to check what was written and what they were sending (to the president for approval),” he said.
On the handling of the matter, he added: “They (the government) should not do something like this with a high-ranking officer.”
Shortly after Tuesday’s hearing, Prime Minister Imran Khan convened a special session of the cabinet to discuss the issue. A new summary for the extension of Bajwa’s tenure was approved and duly endorsed by both Khan and Alvi.
Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan tried to play down the gaffe, referring to it as a “clerical error.” He said that the process was “nothing new” adding that extensions had been granted to different army chiefs in the past and were “notified in the same manner.”
