Govt seeks stay on army chief extension verdict till review decision

Law Minister Dr Farogh Nasim has also moved the apex court seeking its permission to argue the review petition

ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday filed a petition with the Supreme Court, seeking a stay order on its verdict of November 28, 2019, regarding the extension of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), said Express News.



In the petition, the government pleaded that a stay order remained in effect until a decision on the government's review petition on the verdict was made.

SC last year had announced that General Qamar Javed Bajwa would remain the COAS for another six months, during which the parliament would legislate on the extension/reappointment of an army chief.

Meanwhile, Law Minister Dr Farogh Nasim has also moved the Supreme Court seeking its permission to argue the federal government review petition against November 28 judgment in army chief extension case.

Nearly a month after the top court ruling, the government had filed a review petition on December 26, raising 26 questions of law against the judgement while pleading for “preservation of two leading institutions” for a “healthy democracy”.

In the earlier petition, the government had apprised the top court that General Qamar’s contributions to national security “would go down in history” and “public at large has warmly welcomed” his reappointment.

“The enemies of Pakistan were extremely happy when they thought that General Bajwa’s extension or re-appointment had fallen into jeopardy,” read the old petition.

Meanwhile, the federal cabinet on Wednesday also approved amendments to the Army Act, 1952 setting the retirement age of the COAS at 64 years and empowering the prime minister to extend his tenures by three years. The same rules will apply to the chairman joint chiefs of staff committee (CJCSC).

The cabinet meeting approved the draft of an amendment bill, which proposed changes to Section 172 of the Army Act 1952.



Defence Minister Pervez Khattak also later confirmed the news saying, the bill defines the service period of the COAS and the CJCSC and lays out the procedure for an extension in their tenures.

The government also decided to table the bill in parliament on Friday (tomorrow) after taking the opposition on board.