Senate approves Army Act Amendment Bill 2020

• The bill was presented by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak.
• The Pakistan Army (Amendment Act 2020), the Pakistan Navy (Amendment Act 2020) and the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment Act 2020), were approved separately.
• The government tabled the bill to amend the Pakistan Army Act in order to give a three-year extension to COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

(Karachi) The Senate has approved the Army Act Amendment Bill 2020 with majority, media reported on Wednesday. The bill was presented by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak.

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani presided over the session.

The Army Act Bill was approved by majority of the house members. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F) and Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) opposed the bill. However, Senator Waleed Iqbal presented some amendments in the Army Act Bill.

The Pakistan Army (Amendment Act 2020), the Pakistan Navy (Amendment Act 2020) and the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment Act 2020), were approved separately. After the bill was approved, Sadiq Sanjrani adjourned the session till Friday.

The bill will now be presented to the President of Pakistan Arif Alvi. The bill will come into effect after approval from the president.

Earlier, the National Assembly approved the three amendment bills related to the tenures of the serving chiefs of the armed forces.

The government tabled the bill to amend the Pakistan Army Act and the Constitution in order to give a three-year extension to Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The Army Act Amendment Bill aims to extend the retirement age of chief of army staff, chief of air staff, chief of naval staff and the chairman of the joint chief of staff committee to 64 years.

According to clause 8B of Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2020, “The President, on the advice of the Prime Minister, may reappoint the Chief of the Army Staff for additional tenure of three (03) years, or extend the tenure(s) of the Chief of the Army Staff up to three (3) years, on such terms and conditions, as may be determined by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, in the national security interest or exigencies, from time to time."

On November 28, 2019, the Supreme Court has given a deadline of six months to the government to carry out legislation in army chief's service tenure extension case. However, the government completed the legal process in just one-and-a-half month with the cooperation of all the political parties.

After the bill will be implemented, none of the lawmakers or any individual can challenge the extension or appointment of the army chief.