After National Assembly, Senate also greenlights armed forces, SC bills

The Senate has also approved bills related to three armed forces and a bill related to the Supreme Court with majority votes on Friday, aligning them with the 27th Constitutional Amendment, a day after they were approved by the federal cabinet and then the National Assembly.

The bills were approved through clause-by-clause voting in the Upper House.

A total of five bills were cleared by the Lower House on Thursday, including the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Amendment Bill, 2025 — all of which were approved without being referred to the relevant standing committees for further deliberation.

Armed forces: changes to laws approved by NA

All these bills were designed to align with the newly passed 27th Constitutional Amendment.

Opposition members, particularly from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), remained absent during the proceedings, while lawmakers from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) (JUI-F) staged strong protests against the bills.

The amendments to the military acts are part of the government’s broader strategy to align key laws with the newly enacted Constitutional Amendment Act, 2025, which establishes a Federal Constitutional Court under Article 175B of the Constitution. The changes aim to ensure the consistency of these laws with the new constitutional framework.

In a statement outlining the objectives of the amendments, the government stressed that the bills are designed to facilitate the establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court and regulate its procedure.

National Assembly also approves amendments to Army Act

Speaking on the assembly floor a day ago, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the amendments had been introduced to align the 27th Amendment with the existing law. He explained that the tenure of the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) will be five years from the date of appointment.

This will lead to Chief of the Army (COAS) Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir having a reset to his tenure as the army chief upon his appointment as the CDF.

Certain changes had been made in the Air Force and Navy, Tarar added.