Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court suspended Tuesday the three-year extension given to the powerful Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa till Wednesday and said the entire process was ‘upside down’, in an embarrassment to Prime Minister Imran Khan who cited ‘regional security environment’ for his decision to grant the top general another term in office.
The unprecedented move by the apex court to suspend Prime Minister Khan’s decision August 19 could raise the tension between the judiciary and the powerful Pakistan Army. It also came just three days ahead of 59-year-old Bajwa’s retirement November 29 as the Chief of the Army Staff in his first stint.
“The entire process was upside down. First, the Cabinet should have given the approval, then the prime minister and president should have been advised,” Geo News quoted Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa as saying.
Reacting to the embarrassing development, Khan chaired an emergency cabinet meeting and took back the notification to extend services of General Bajwa.
Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood told journalists that the Cabinet took back the earlier notification and also took measures to address the concerns of the apex court. He said the cabinet also changed the Pakistan Defence Services Rules and added word ‘extension’ as pointed out by the Supreme Court. “A summary was sent to the president to issue a fresh notification after approval by the cabinet,” the minister said.
Pakistan’s Law Minister Farogh Naseem also resigned Tuesday to represent the government in the case regarding Bajwa’s extension in the Supreme Court.
PTI