Pakistan amends law to extend powerful army chief’s service tenure

Pakistan on Monday passed an amendment to a law that will extend the terms of the heads of the armed forces to five years from three, in a rowdy parliamentary session opposed by jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, Reuters reported.

Extending the term of commanders including Army Chief General Asim Munir would deal another blow to the embattled Khan and his party, which blames the military for his downfall.

The measure from the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who leads a coalition of parties opposed to Khan that took power after an election in February, could be aimed at shoring up support from powerful military figures.

The bill to amend the Pakistan Army Act of 1952 was moved by Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif. House Speaker Ayaz Sadiq announced in a live telecast of the proceedings that the bill had passed.

Geo TV reported that it took 16 minutes for the senate to pass the amendment into law, which Khan’s party lawmaker Omar Ayub termed as bulldozing the legislation by the ruling alliance without any debate in either house.

“It is neither good for the country nor for the armed forces,” Ayub said.

Khan’s party’s lawmakers opposed the bill during the sessions and some tore apart copies of it.

Under the new law, General Munir, who took office in November 2022 with a timeline to retire in 2025, will serve until 2027 irrespective of a retirement age of 64 for a general.

The former prime minister, who has been in jail since August last year, has been at odds with generals he blames for his 2022 ousting, after he fell out with then-army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa.