Govt seeks stay order in army chief’s service tenure extension issue

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The federal government on Thursday sought a stay order in the extension in the service tenure of Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The government, in a miscellaneous petition filed by President Dr Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Defence Ministry, also requested the court to suspend the implementation of the Nov 28 verdict till the decision on the review petition. The petition also demanded that a five-member larger bench should be formed to hear the larger bench. “An irreparable loss will be caused to the country if the Nov 28 verdict was not suspended,” he said. On December 27, the Supreme Court had accepted the government’s review petition against the verdict regarding extension in the service tenure of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa. A day earlier, the government had filed a review petition against the verdict of the Supreme Court. In the petition, it was contended to form a larger bench to hear the case and hold the in-camera proceedings. “While pronouncing the verdict, the verdict regarding extension in the service tenure of judges has not been kept in the mind,” it stated. The petition stated that the SC had been extending the service tenure of additional and adhoc judges. On December 17, the Supreme Court had ruled that Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa would stand retired after six months unless parliament allowed him extension of tenure by amending the relevant army laws. The 42-page verdict authored by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah of a three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, said it was inconceivable that the constitutional appointment to the COAS post was unregulated under a written Constitution. It said: “The crucial matter of the tenure of COAS and its extension, which has somewhat a chequered history, is before the parliament, to fix for all times to come and it is now for the people of Pakistan and their chosen representatives in the parliament to come up with a law that will provide certainty and predictability to the post of COAS, remembering that in strengthening institutions, nation prospers.”