Army chief extension: Nawaz lays down time-frame to pass amendments in Pakistan Army Act 1952

Nawaz Sharif says PML-N couldn't possibly allow the dignity of the Parliament to be compromised

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo Nawaz Sharif has laid down a new strategy for the party to follow in the matter concerning amendments in The Pakistan Army Act 1952.

The strategy is a drastic change from the course PML-N took till Thursday.

In a letter addressed to Khawaja Asif, the three-time former premier said “it was not in the interest of any party to show undue haste or to bulldoze the rules and procedures”.

“Such important bills cannot be passed in 24 or for that matter 48 hours,” he continued. “We would like to look at the bill positively for stability in the country.”



Nawaz said the PML-N couldn’t “possibly allow the dignity of the Parliament to be compromised”. He suggested to stress upon the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government to adopt pre-parliamentary norms and laid down a schedule:

January 3: Bill presented before the National Assembly and referred to the concerned standing committee as political parties deliberate over recommendations in parliamentary meetings.

January 7 and 8: Standing committee considers the bill and sends a report to the lower house of the Parliament.

January 9 and 10: NA considers, debates and votes on the bill and forwards it to Senate.

January 13: Senate sends the bill to its standing committee.

January 15: Senate considers, debates and votes on the bill.

Nawaz maintained that this was the 'minimum' possible time-frame to pass the bill with "meaningful input".

"We should also be cognizant of the fact that the Parliament should not be seen to rubber-stamp a bill of such importance," he wrote and pointed out that the "political fallout for all parties will be substantial if parliamentary norms are not properly observed".

Confirming the content of the letter to The Express Tribune, PML-N leader Mian Javed Latif said the party's plan of action will be taken in light of the letter.

He said the letter was drafted following a meeting of PML-N leaders in London also attended by party president Shehbaz Sharif.