Constitutional bench bins plea challenging army chief’s tenure extension

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court constitutional bench on Tuesday dismissed a plea challenging the recently amended law extending the tenure of the army chief to five years.

A seven-member constitutional bench led by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan rejected the petition, maintaining the SC registrar’s office’s objections regarding the plea being inadmissible.

The SC bench also includes Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice ⁠Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and Justice Musarrat Hilali.

Earlier this month, the ruling coalition amended the laws — the Pakistan (Army/Air Force/Navy) Act Amendment, 2024 — that extended the tenure of all service chiefs from three to five years.

“The purpose of these amendments is to harmonize the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, the Pakistan Navy Ordinance, 1961, and the Pakistan Air Force Act, 1953 with the maximum tenure of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), and Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) and to make consequential amendments for uniformity in the said rules,” the amendment reads.

Regarding the retirement age and service limits of services chiefs, the bill read that the criteria prescribed for the senior military officers “shall not be applicable” to the army, navy, and air force heads during their “tenure of appointment, reappointment and/or extension”.