Pakistan cabinet rushes out draft bill on COAS extension

TIL Desk/World/Islamabad/ Pakistan federal cabinet at an urgent meeting has approved proposed amendments to the Constitution and the Army Act in order to give a three-year extension to Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.

In the wake of the Supreme Court”s order to remove ambiguity in rules on the issue of extension in the Army chief”s tenure, the government on Wednesday also decided to introduce the amendment bill in Parliament on Friday after building a consensus with the opposition on the matter.

“According to an amendment, the maximum age limit for an Army chief will be 64 years and this will be applied in case of extension in his term, but the regular age limit of COAS will be 60 years,” a cabinet member said, insisting that it would be the Prime Minister”s prerogative whether to give extension to the Army chief in future.

The Supreme Court in its detailed verdict released on Decemeber 16, 2019 in the case pertaining to Gen Bajwa”s service extension had emphasised that it was up to Parliament to carry out legislation that would provide “certainty and predictability” to the post of the COAS for all times to come.