Chief justice suspends notification of Bajwa’s tenure extension until tomorrow

0
455

Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa on Tuesday suspended the notification of Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa’s tenure extension until the hearing tomorrow.The court issued notices to all parties, including Gen Bajwa, who is due to retire on November 29. The hearing was adjourned until Wednesday.On August 19, Prime Minister Imran Khan had approved an extension in the tenure of Gen Bajwa for another three years.”General Qamar Javed Bajwa is appointed Chief of Army Staff for another term of three years from the date of completion of current tenure,” the brief notification issued by the prime minister’s office had said.

During the hearing of a withdrawal application of a petition challenging the extension in Gen Bajwa’s tenure today, the chief justice said: “Only the president of Pakistan can extend the tenure of the army chief.”

The chief justice rejected the application and took up the petition in public interest under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution.

“Army chief’s tenure was extended after the president’s approval,” the attorney general (AG) told the court. “The summary had been approved by the cabinet.”

“A similar petition was filed in the Peshawar High Court but was withdrawn later,” the AG added.