Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former prime minister and PML-N leader, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, on Saturday deemed the tenure extension granted to former Army Chief General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa through a constitutional amendment in the Army Act 1952 in January 2020 a “mistake”.
In an interview with a private television channel, Khaqan Abbasi commented on the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Act, 2020. He said that from day one he considered the Army Act amendment a mistake.
“Extension in tenure of COAS is an extraordinary process; it should not be made routine,” the Abbasi said.
Abbasi terms amendment a mistake
According to the Army act, a serving army chief can be re-appointed for a three-year term, and the appointment can not be challenged in any court of law in the future.
Khaqan Abbasi maintained that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and the then prime minister Imran Khan extended Bajwa’s tenure in August 2019 — three months ahead of his retirement from service.
“The then-prime minister Imran Khan gave an extension without consulting political leadership. Amending the Army act after the extension was a mistake,” Khaqan Abbasi said.
Khaqan Abbasi’s decision should have been taken in November 2019 and that Imran Khan made it in haste. “The military itself will demand repealing the amendment in Army act.”
