Emergency meeting of PTI’s spokesperson on army chief’s extension

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – After the Supreme Court’s (SC) detailed verdict on extension of the army chief’s tenure, an emergency meeting of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) spokespersons held under the chair of Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mehmood Qureshi. According to the sources, FM Qureshi presided the emergency meeting and discussed the legal aspects of the detailed verdict of the top court. The attorney general and the legal team also informed the participants of the meeting on the SC’s verdict over army chief’s extension. The sources also said that the meeting reviewed the legal aspects of the detailed verdict and consultation held on the government’s statement. It was also reported that the decision to file review petition or not will be taken in the federal cabinet meeting after Prime Minister Imran Khan’s return. During the meeting, they all agreed to resolve the matter regarding to the chief election commission and the members. The written 43-page verdict by the top court’s Justice Mansoor Ali Shah has issued in a case related to the extension of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The detailed verdict stated that a three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa explored the scope of Article 243 of the Constitution, reviewed the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, the Pakistan Army Act Rules, 1954. The court found that the “Pakistan Army Act, 1952 falls deficient of the structural requirements for raising and maintaining an Army under clause (3) of Article 243 of the Constitution.” The verdict noted that “no tenure or age of retirement for the rank of General is provided under the law. As per the institutional practice a General retires on completion of a tenure of three years. Although an institutional practice cannot be a valid substitute of the law.” “There is no provision in the law for extending service of a General for another tenure; nor is there any consistent and continuous institutional practice of granting such extension,” Justice Shah wrote, adding that the summaries for the reappointment, extension and fresh appointment of General Bajwa were “meaningless” in absence of the relevant law.