Daily Times

In a much awaited detailed verdict of Supreme Court of Pakistan in a case pertaining to tenure of Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the court has issued orders that if government will fail in legislation of tenure extension within six months, the Army Chief will be terminated.

However, for the first time in Pakistan’s history, the case of extension in service of Army Chief has caught the eye of the Supreme Court (SC), which is digging deeper into the procedures through which the extension is being given to Bajwa by the Imran Khan government.

Notably, Supreme Court had earlier cancelled the notification from the President on extension of the COAS during August this year, raising questions over procedures undertaken for the same.

Adding more to the embarrassment of the government’s attorney general and the case contention by former Law Minister Farokh Naseem, who resigned a day before to represent COAS Bajwa in the Supreme Court; Farokh Naseem was barred from presenting the case on behalf of COAS Bajwa as his legal license was not reinstated after resigning from the Law Ministry.

The Supreme Court has now given the government time till Thursday to come up with a logical contention and procedural argument on the case, insisting that if the government fails to satisfy the court, then a decision would be taken in light of the law of the land and the constitution of the country.

It is also important to note that the case, challenging the government’s decision to give extension to COAS bajwa, filed by Riaz Hanif Rahi, who later asked the court for withdrawal of his petition, was rejected by the CJP Khosa, taking the case up under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution, stating that the case held ‘public importance’.