The acting president Gilani signed the bills to increase the number of Supreme Court judges and tenures of the Services Chiefs into law, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Monday.
The government, earlier in the day, secured the parliament’s nod to increase the number of Supreme Court judges and tenures of the Services Chiefs. The Senate approved six crucial bills including the Supreme Court Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill 2024, Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill 2024, the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2024 followed by approval of the National Assembly, amid the opposition uproar.
Decrying the passage of the bills, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan told the media that democracy had been changed into a monarchy.
Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, said, “This Form 47 Shehbaz regime modifying the service chiefs’ tenure is not a good thing for the country and the armed forces.”
The move was also condemned by other political parties, including the Jamati-e-Islami. In a post on X, JI Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan said, “The path for legal martial law has been paved in Pakistan,” he said.
The bills included the Supreme Court Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar moved a motion to suspend the House business and take up the supplementary agenda which was adopted by the House.
The three initial bills related to Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court were piloted by Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar in the House while the remaining three bills pertaining to Army, Navy and Air Force were moved by Minister of Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
The House passed all the bills through clause-by-clause readings. The Supreme Court Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill, 2024 aimed at increasing number of SC judges to 34 which would help tackle the backlog of cases at the Supreme Court.
Similarly, under the Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the number of judges in the Islamabad High Court has also been increased from nine to twelve.
Furthermore, the Senate also passed amendments to the Pakistan (Army/Air Force/Navy) Act Amendment Bills 2024 to enhance the tenures of service chiefs.
In the said Act, in section 8A, in sub-section (1), for the expression “three (03)” the word “five (05)” shall be substituted,” says the bill. Sub-section 1 of Section 8A states that “the President shall, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appoint a General as the Chief of the Army Staff, for a tenure of three (03) years,” read the bill.
Similarly, the proposed bill aimed to increase the length of time the service chief can be reappointed or have their tenure extended to five years, instead of three as outlined in Section 8B.
Section 8B of the Army Act reads as follows: “The President, on the advice of the Prime Minister, may reappoint the Chief of the Army Staff for additional tenure of three (03) years, or extend the tenure(s) of the Chief of the Army Staff up to three (03) years, on such terms and conditions, as may be determined by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, in the national security interest or exigencies, from time to time.”
“In the said Act, in section 8B, in sub-section (1)- 10 for the expression “three (03)”, occurring twice, the expression “five (05)” shall be substituted,” the 2024 bill read.
According to the statement of objects and reasons, “The purpose of these amendments is to make consistent the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 … The Pakistan Navy Ordinance, 1961 … and The Pakistan Air Force Act, 1953 … with the maximum tenure of the Chief of the Army Staff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff and to make consequential amendments for uniformity in the aforementioned laws.”
Later, the Presiding Officer prorogued the Senate session sine die after conclusion of the business. The Chair read the prorogation order signed by the President.