ISLAMABAD, Nov 28:
Pakistan’s Supreme Court today granted a six-month conditional extension to Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, in a landmark case that shook the high echelons of power in a country that has been ruled for decades by the powerful military.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and comprising Justices Mazhar Alam Khan and Mansoor Ali Shah, announced the verdict after being assured by the Government that Parliament will pass legislation on the extension/reappointment of an Army chief within six months.
“The current appointment of General Qamar Javed Bajwa as COAS shall be subject to the said legislation and shall continue for a period of six months from today, where after the new legislation shall determine his tenure and other terms and conditions of service,” the bench said in its short order.
The verdict was announced after the Government submitted “a new summary” to extend the service of Gen Bajwa.
The ruling comes in the nick of time as Gen Bajwa was set to retire at midnight today.
A much-relieved Prime Minister Imran Khan lauded the Apex Court after the ruling even as he took a jibe at the country’s “external enemies” and the “mafias within”, saying the verdict must be of “special disappointment” to them. (PTI)
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