Pakistan changes law to extend the term of powerful army chief

Pakistan has passed an amendment to the law extending the term of the heads of the armed forces from three to five years, in a rowdy parliamentary session opposed by the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Extending the terms of commanders, including army chief general Asim Munir, would deal another blow to the embattled Khan and his party, who blame the military for his downfall.

The move by the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which leads a coalition of anti-Khan parties that took power after February elections, could be aimed at boosting the support of powerful military figures.

The bill to amend the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 was introduced by Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif. Speaker of the House of Representatives Ayaz Sadiq announced in a live broadcast of the proceedings that the bill had been passed.

The amendment received the support of the Senate’s upper house, which also has a majority of anti-Khan parties, in a vote broadcast live by local TV news channels.

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 the ruling alliance’s bulldozing of the legislation without any debate in either house.

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

Lawmakers from Khan’s party opposed the bill during the hearings, and some tore apart copies of it.

“There will be no harm if the tenure of a service chief is extended to five years, just as we have a five-year tenure for a government,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told Geo New TV. “It will help achieve stability and continuity of policies within the institutions.”

The term will start on the day of the appointment of the heads, Asif, the defense minister, told Geo TV.

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

The former prime minister, who has been in jail since August 2023, is at loggerheads with the generals he blames for his ouster in 2022 after falling out with then army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Khan’s party backed the candidates who won the most seats in the February elections but fell short of a majority, paving the way for his opponents to form a government.

Khan’s supporters have since rioted in parliament and on the streets, claiming the election was rigged to keep them out of power, which the military and election commission deny.

They say the ruling alliance lacks legitimacy, a charge the government denies.