Pak SC grants conditional extension to army chief

Islamabad, November 28

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Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday granted a six-month conditional extension to army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, in a landmark case that shook the high echelons of power in a country that has been ruled for decades by the powerful military.

Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who headed a three-member Bench comprising Justices Mazhar Alam Khan and Mansoor Ali Shah, announced the verdict after being assured by the government that Parliament will pass legislation on the extension/reappointment of an army chief within six months.

“The current appointment of General Qamar Javed Bajwa as COAS shall be subject to the said legislation and shall continue for a period of six months from today, whereafter the new legislation shall determine his tenure and other terms and conditions of service,” the bench said in its short order. The verdict was announced after the government submitted “a new summary” to extend the service of Gen Bajwa. The ruling comes in the nick of time as Gen Bajwa was set to retire at midnight Thursday.

A much-relieved Prime Minister Imran Khan lauded the apex court after the ruling even as he took a jibe at the country’s “external enemies” and the “mafias within”, saying the verdict must be of “special disappointment” to them.

Khan had extended Bajwa’s tenure through a notification on August 19, but the apex court suspended it on Tuesday, citing irregularities in the manner the army chief, a close confidant of the prime minister, was granted an extension. Justice Khosa said the court observed “judicial restraint” and left the matter to Parliament. — PTI