Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday suspended the notification of Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa's tenure extension until the hearing today (Wednesday)
ISLAMABAD (Pakistan Point News / Online - 26th November, 2019) Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday suspended the notification of Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa's tenure extension until the hearing today (Wednesday).During the court proceedings, the chief justice said that "apparently the summary and approval of army chief's extension is not correct".The court issued notices to defence ministry, Federal government and Gen Bajwa, who is due to retire on November 29.
The hearing was adjourned until Wednesday.On August 19, Prime Minister Imran Khan had approved an extension in the tenure of Gen Bajwa for another three years."General Qamar Javed Bajwa is appointed Chief of Army Staff for another term of three years from the date of completion of current tenure," the brief notification issued by the prime minister's office had said.The chief justice Tuesday took up a withdrawal application of a petition challenging the extension in Gen Bajwa's tenure.
The top judge, however, rejected the application and took up the petition in public interest under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution. The case was converted into a suo moto notice."Only the president of Pakistan can extend the tenure of the army chief," he said during the hearing. "Army chief's tenure was extended after the president's approval," the attorney general (AG) told the court. "The summary had been approved by the cabinet."Justice Khosa said that out of 25 cabinet members, only 11 had approved the extension."Fourteen members of the cabinet did not give any opinion due to non-availability," Justice Khosa said. "Did the government take their silence as agreement."
