Pakistan parliament approves bills to extend tenure of services chiefs to five years

Pakistan's Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar speaks in the National Assembly in Islamabad on November 4, 2024. (X/@NAofPakistan)
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Updated 04 November 2024
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Pakistan parliament approves bills to extend tenure of services chiefs to five years

  • Extension in services of army, navy and air force chiefs follows controversial amendments to the constitution last month
  • The opposition PTI party condemns the amendments for changing Pakistan “from a democracy into a monarchy”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Assembly and Senate on Monday approved bills to extend the tenure of the army, navy, and air force chiefs from three to five years, amid protests by the opposition benches. 

The office of the army chief is considered to be the most powerful in the country, with the army having ruled Pakistan for almost half of its 75-year history. Even when not directly in power, the army is considered to be the invisible guiding hand in politics and holds considerable sway in internal security, foreign policy, and economic affairs, among other domains. 

Six bills were passed by the upper and lower houses on Monday evening, including one to increase the term of the services chiefs.

“In the said Act, in section 8A, in sub-section (1), for the expression “three (03)” the word “five (05)” shall be substituted,” read the bill, seeking to amend the Pakistan Army Act, 1952.

Similar bills were passed to increase the duration of the country’s naval and air force chiefs to five years also. 

“The purpose of these amendments are to make consistent the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 (XXXIX of 1952) The Pakistan Navy Ordinance, 1961 (Ordinance No. XXXV of 1961) and The Pakistan Air Force Act, 1953 (VI of 1953) with the maximum tenure of the Chief of the Army Staff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff and to make consequential amendments for uniformity in the aforementioned laws.” 

Speaking outside parliament, the chairman of the opposition PTI party, Gohar Ali Khan, said:

“Today, democracy has been changed into a monarchy.”

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub Khan, said “modifying the service chiefs’ tenure is not a good thing for the country and the armed forces.”

The passage of the new bills follows controversial amendments made to the constitution last month, granting lawmakers the authority to nominate the chief justice of Pakistan, who previously used to be automatically appointed according to the principle of seniority.

The amendments allowed the government to bypass the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and appoint Justice Yahya Afridi as the country’s top judge, replacing former chief justice Qazi Faez Isa. 

The opposition and the legal fraternity had opposed the amendments, arguing that they were aimed at granting more power to the executive in making judicial appointments and curtailing the independence of the judiciary. The government denies this.


Pakistan welcomes UNGA resolution demanding Gaza ceasefire, unrestricted aid access

Updated 58 min 14 sec ago
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Pakistan welcomes UNGA resolution demanding Gaza ceasefire, unrestricted aid access

  • Ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza has killed over 44,000 people, injured thousands more since Oct 7, 2023 
  • UN-backed assessment last month warned famine was looming in northern Gaza due to a near-halt in food aid

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday welcomed a United Nations General Assembly resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and unrestricted access for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to deliver aid.

The ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 44,000 people and injured thousands more since Oct 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. 

Israel’s 13-month military campaign has displaced an estimated 1.9 million Palestinians, many of them multiple times. Bombings, movement restrictions and evacuations ordered by Israel’s military block access to health care and keep aid workers from reaching people in need, with aid organizations and charities repeatedly warning of crisis-level hunger affecting nearly two million people.

A UN-backed assessment last month warned famine was looming in northern Gaza due to a near-halt in food aid. Essential goods such as water, fresh produce, and medicines are also scarce.

“Pakistan welcomes the UNGA resolution of yesterday demanding an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and removal of restrictions against UNRWA in its aid operations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at a weekly briefing on Thursday.

She called for the immediate “cessation of hostilities” in Palestine, an end to Israel’s “genocide,” protection of civilians and infrastructure, humanitarian access for the needy, and full support for UNRWA’s health care activities.

“We also urge the international community to hold Israel accountable for its war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied territories,” Baloch added.

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other multilateral platforms, demanding international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza.

Pakistan has dispatched a total of 1,273 tons of relief items to the war-affected people of Gaza until Nov. 27, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

The South Asian nation does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.


Pakistan calls for ‘inclusive political process, no foreign interference’ in determining Syria’s future

Updated 53 min 56 sec ago
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Pakistan calls for ‘inclusive political process, no foreign interference’ in determining Syria’s future

  • Following overthrow of Assad, opposition forces’ leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa’s group is stamping its authority on the Syrian state
  • It has deployed police, installed interim government, met foreign envoys, raising concerns over how inclusive new rulers intend to be

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it supported an “inclusive political process” in Syria after the fall of President Bashar Assad’s regime and believed that the Middle Eastern nation’s future should be determined by its people without “foreign interference.”

Following the overthrow of the Assad family after over five decades in power, opposition forces’ leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) group is stamping its authority on the Syrian state with the same lightning speed that it seized the country, deploying police, installing an interim government and meeting foreign envoys, raising concerns over how inclusive Damascus’ new rulers intend to be. HTS bureaucrats — who until last week were running an administration in a remote corner of Syria’s northwest — have moved into government headquarters in Damascus.

The appointment of Mohammed Al-Bashir, the head of the regional government in HTS’ enclave of Idlib, as Syria’s new interim prime minister on Monday underlined the group’s status as the most powerful of the armed groups that battled for more than 13 years to end Assad’s iron-fisted rule.

“We believe that any solution to the situation in Syria should correspond to the aspirations of the Syrian people for their security, stability and development, Pakistan believes that it is the right of the people of Syria to determine their own future and make decisions about their destiny,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told reporters on Thursday.

“We also support efforts to establish an inclusive political process. We also believe that no foreign interference or external imposition should determine Syria’s future.”

Although it was part of Al-Qaeda before breaking ties in 2016, HTS had reassured tribal leaders, local officials, and ordinary Syrians during its march to Damascus that it would protect minority faiths, winning broad approval. The message helped smooth the advance by the opposition forces and Sharaa — better known as Abu Mohammed Al-Golani — has repeated it since Assad’s ouster.

Bashir has said he will only remain in power until March. But HTS — which remains classified as a terrorist group by the United States, regional powerbroker Turkiye and other governments — has yet to spell out key details of the transition process, including its thinking on a new constitution.

Foreign Office spokesperson also said Pakistan was “deeply concerned” over Israeli aggression against Syria, its “illegal seizure” of Syrian territory and widespread destruction of infrastructure and civilian and military installations.

After the overthrow of Assad on Sunday, Israeli troops moved into the demilitarized zone set up after the 1973 Middle East war, saying the incursion was a temporary measure to ensure border security. Israel aims to impose a “sterile defense zone” in southern Syria that would be enforced without a permanent troop presence, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday, as the military said a wave of air strikes had destroyed the bulk of Syria’s strategic weapons stockpiles.

“This assault on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria is a grave breach of international law. We express support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and reject Israeli acquisition of territory by force,” Baloch said. 

“We reaffirm our support for the UN Security Council Resolution 497, which declares Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights null and void and without international legal effect.”

She also said the ministry of foreign affairs and Pakistan’s missions in Syria and Lebanon were “actively” working to repatriate Pakistanis in Syria.

More than 1,300 Pakistanis have been stranded in Syria since Sunday. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged Lebanese PM Najib Mikati to “personally” assist in getting Pakistanis, including pilgrims, out of Syria by land routes through the border with Lebanon.
 
“Around 475 Pakistanis, including around 250 pilgrims, have crossed the Syrian border into Lebanon,” Baloch said. 

“They will be transferred from Beirut to Islamabad. We appreciate the support extended by the government of Lebanon in facilitating the safe return of the stranded Pakistani nationals from Syria.”

– With inputs from Reuters


Haleon Pakistan to start manufacturing multivitamin brand Centrum

Updated 12 December 2024
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Haleon Pakistan to start manufacturing multivitamin brand Centrum

  • Haleon plans to expand its pain management offerings next year by adding the Panadol range for menstrual pain and migraines
  • In first stage of launch, expected in first quarter of 2025, product will be imported, and in the second stage it will be made locally 

KARACHI: Haleon Pakistan plans to start manufacturing multivitamin brand Centrum in the country for domestic sales and export, its CEO said, as it seeks to boost sales in the country amid lower inflation.

The Pakistan unit of British consumer health care firm Haleon plans to expand its pain management offerings next year by adding the Panadol range for menstrual pain and migraines, CEO Farhan Muhammad Haroon told Reuters in an interview.

“Pakistan has a 24 billion rupee ($86.30 million) Vitamin Mineral Supplement market. This does not include the grey market. We already make up 7.5 billion rupees ($26.97 million) of the market through our (vitamin) products CAC-1000 Plus and Qalsium-D,” said Haroon.

“With the launch of Centrum, we plan to capture 7 to 8 percent of the remaining market immediately, which is a sizeable portion of the category.”

Haroon said the company plans to sell Centrum in smaller bottles so customers do not have to worry about high upfront costs, as purchasing power has diminished in the country after inflation hit a multidecade high of around 40 percent last year. In November, Pakistan’s consumer price index inflation slowed to 4.9 percent.

Haroon said in the first stage of the Centrum launch, expected in the first quarter of 2025, the product will be imported, and in the second stage it will be made locally with market specific variants to suit needs of Pakistanis and other export markets.

“We already export our calcium and vitamin D supplement CAC-1000 Plus and topical pain relief product Voltral Emulgel to Vietnam and Philippines, we will be ready to export to 19 countries in the next 1-1.5 years,” he said.

Haleon Pakistan sees at least 10 percent of its sales coming from exports in the next two years, up from 5 percent-6 percent during its peak in 2022, Haroon said, adding that it had invested $10 million last year to enhance local production capabilities.


China to invest $1 billion to set up medical city in Pakistan — president’s office

Updated 12 December 2024
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China to invest $1 billion to set up medical city in Pakistan — president’s office

  • Delegation led by Chinese Consul General in Karachi, Yang Yundong, calls on Zardari 
  • Investments in agriculture, livestock, energy, transport, and manufacturing discussed

ISLAMABAD: A Chinese delegation that called on President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed interest in investing $1 billion to establish a medical city in Pakistan, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said on Thursday.

Longtime ally China has invested heavily in Pakistan through the $65 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that encompasses infrastructure, energy and other projects and is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.

But ties have frayed in recent months as Beijing has publicly voiced concerns about the security of its workers and projects in Pakistan amid a rise in attacks by militants on Chinese nationals and projects. Media reports in recent weeks have also widely speculated that China has said it will not continue with CPEC projects unless Pakistan can guarantee security.

“The Chinese delegation expressed interest to invest one billion dollar to establish a medical city in Pakistan to advance the country’s health care sector,” Radio Pakistan reported after a Chinese delegation led by the consul general in Karachi, Yang Yundong, called on Zardari on Wednesday evening. 

“The delegation also expressed interest to invest in diverse sectors of Pakistan’s economy, especially agriculture, livestock, energy, transport, and manufacturing.”

“Pakistan is committed to facilitating and supporting Chinese investors in every possible way,” the report quoted the president as telling the delegation. “He emphasized the need for enhanced interaction between the people of the two countries, especially between the investors and businesses, to increase bilateral trade and economic relations.”

Zardari also spoke about the southwestern deep-sea port of Gwadar that China is developing under CPEC, saying it would soon become a “regional trade and economic hub that would not only improve regional connectivity but would also boost regional trade and economic cooperation.”

Gwadar is on the Arabian Sea in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, a mineral-rich region plagued by a decades-long separatist insurgency. China has invested heavily in the province, including by developing Gwadar, which is key to CPEC.

The China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC), which operationally handles Gwadar, plans to eventually expand the port’s capacity to up to 400 million tons of cargo per year. Long term plans for the port require a total of 100 berths to be developed by 2045. For now, Gwadar is underutilized for commercial import and export due to reasons such as distance from the marketplaces of the country, security and services availability.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered that 50 percent of all public sector cargo be brought to Pakistan through Gwadar. The instructions subsequently received cabinet approval in September.


Ex-spy chief’s arraignment ignites debate in Pakistan on possible military trial of Imran Khan

Updated 33 min 17 sec ago
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Ex-spy chief’s arraignment ignites debate in Pakistan on possible military trial of Imran Khan

  • Hamid, who was DG ISI from June 2019 until October 2021, was widely seen to have been close to Khan when he was PM 
  • PM Sharif government says Hamid may have been a “strategic adviser” to Khan in planning anti-military riots in May last year

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Legal and political analysts said this week the arraignment of former spymaster Lt. Gen. (retired) Faiz Hamid on a number of charges, including engaging in political activities, could be a “message” for jailed ex-premier Imran Khan and a precursor to prosecuting the jailed leader before a military court.

Hamid, who served as the director-general of Pakistan’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency from June 2019 until October 2021, was widely seen to have been close to Khan while he was prime minister from 2018-2022. The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said at the time of Hamid’s arrest in August he was part of a “political nexus” led by Khan that had planned protests by pro-Khan supporters in May 9, 2023, in which government and military buildings were attacked by rioters. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has since said Hamid may have played the role of a “strategic adviser” to Khan in planning the violence and the ex-premier’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party provided the manpower while Hamid “masterminded the conspiracy.” 

Thousands of leaders and supporters of the PTI were arrested after the protests and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence and there have been widespread reports that the military also plans to prosecute Khan under the Pakistan Army Act on charges of treason and attempting to incite a mutiny in the military. The PTI denies their leader planned the riots and says he was in prison when they took place. Khan is already on trial in a civilian court for allegedly abetting the violence, a charge he has rejected. 

The Pakistan Army Act of 1952 set up military courts to try members of the military or enemies of the state. Civilians can only be tried in such tribunals under a federal government order for offenses such as waging war against the armed forces or law enforcement agencies, or for attacking military installations or inciting mutiny.

Hamid’s lawyer declined comment. The military did not respond to an Arab News request for comment but current army chief General Asim Munir said in May, without naming anyone, there could be “no compromise or deal with the planners and architects of this dark chapter in our history.”

“The court martial of Faiz Hamid is also a message for Imran Khan,” political analyst Mazhar Abbas told Arab News. “The case with regards to May 9 is still not final and under investigation but if the nexus between Gen. Faiz and Imran is established, the case would go down in history as a landmark case.”

Imaan Mazari-Haider, a prominent human rights lawyer, questioned the intent behind Hamid’s trial.

“If there was any genuine intent to hold him [Hamid] accountable for violations of his oath, the violations of the constitution, violations of Pakistanis’ fundamental rights under his tenure as DG ISI, we would be seeing a very different kind of trial and a very different mode of accountability,” she said, referring to the secretive nature of military trials. 

“So, yes, I do think on some level, this is also being done to bring Imran Khan within the ambit of the Army Act … it’s to bring a very popular, civilian leader within the ambit of the Army Act, perhaps at a later stage.”

Khan has himself said Hamid’s arrest was meant to ultimately target him as other cases against him were falling apart and he had won a string of legal victories in civilian courts.

“It is a drama to try my case in a military court,” he was quoted as saying by his lawyer Naeem Panjutha during a hearing in jail earlier this year.

In a media briefing in September, military spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry hinted at a military trial for Khan in response to a question by a journalist. While he said the matter was under judicial consideration and therefore prohibited from public discussion, he simultaneously outlined the conditions under which a civilian could be tried under military law:

“Anyone who uses any person or persons who are bound by the Army Act for his personal or political interests, and there is evidence available about that, the law will take its own course.”

“FIX THEIR OWN HOUSE”

Pakistan’s military courts operate under a separate system from the civilian legal system and are run by military officials. Judges at such tribunals are also military officers and cases are tried at military buildings. Trials are closed to outsiders and the media.

The courts have faced widespread criticism inside Pakistan and from rights organizations globally because of their secretive nature and their parallel existence alongside a functioning civilian legal system.

Anyone tried under the Army Act has the right to defend themselves and engage a counsel of their choice. There is no right to appeal but individuals can challenge the question of jurisdiction in high courts and the Supreme Court.

Hamid is being tried by court-martial on charges of corruption, misuse of power in service and violation of the Army Act after his 2022 retirement, the military says. The charges are punishable by a jail sentence of up to 14 years.

“The retired officer is also accused of transgressing legal and constitutional boundaries for his personal interest at the behest of some particular political elements,” the military spokesman said at the September briefing.

Khan has waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s all-powerful military after a falling out with then-army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in 2022, following which he was ousted from office in a parliamentary no-trust vote that he said was backed by the generals. The army denies it interferes in political affairs but has a long history of carrying out military coups in Pakistan and being the invisible guiding hand of politics even in times of civilian rule. 

Khan appointed Hamid in 2019 as the head of the ISI, one of the most powerful posts in Pakistan and one that functions at the intersection of national politics and military and foreign affairs. Two years later, when the military transferred Hamid from the ISI to a corps command, Khan initially opposed the move in what was the first public sign of divisions between him and the army top leadership.

Khan has acknowledged in interviews to Pakistani media that he wanted Hamid to remain DG ISI in 2021, when he said the opposition had started planning his ouster. 

Lawyer and columnist, Sameer Khosa, told Arab News while it was too early to speculate on whether Hamid’s trial would pave the way for Khan’s before a military court, civilians “deserve a hearing in a fair and open court where they are confronted with the evidence against them and have the ability to lead a fair and independent defense.”

“Military trials are meant for the internal disciplinary proceedings of military officers by military officers because they are bound by military discipline,” Khosa said. 

“Civilians have the right to a trial before an independent and impartial forum that is open to the public and the media. That’s a constitutional guarantee. It’s an international human rights principle.”

Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, a senior PTI leader and close adviser to Khan, said the court martial and arraignment of the former ISI chief was an “army matter” that had no connection to Khan.

“It’s funny that the army is taking action [against Hamid] now but not in the last five years while he was in office,” the PTI spokesman told Arab News, raising questions about the timing of the case against the ex-spymaster.

“They [army] should, they need to fix their own house first before trying to link it to anybody else,” he added. “So whatever issues they have, it is their own internal housekeeping.”