ISLAMABAD: The Senate of Pakistan on Wednesday swiftly approved three separate bills regarding the appointment, reappointment and tenure of services chiefs, including the country’s powerful army chief.

The bills were tabled by Defense Minister Pervez Khattak in the upper House proposing amendments to Pakistan Army Act 1952, Pakistan Air Force Act 1953 and Pakistan Navy Ordinance 1961.

The new legislation gives the president of the country power to re-appoint or extend the existing tenure of the tri-services chiefs and the chairman of the joint chief of staff committee. It also ensures that courts cannot challenge such tenure extensions in future.

The bills will now require presidential assent as formality before becoming law.

On Tuesday, the National Assembly had also approved the said bills with thumbnail majority despite little resistance and objections of some parties.

The major opposition parties in the National Assembly – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – voted in favor of the bills while members of Jamat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazal and lawmakers from the tribal districts walked out of the house in protest.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also made a rare appearance in the house and remained seated during the voting process on the bills on Tuesday.

The passage of the army (amendment) act from the parliament will pave the way for a three-year tenure extension in Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s service.

The PPP also withdrew its amendments in the bills following a request by Defense Minister Pervez Khattak.

Speaking on the floor of the House, PPP legislator Naveed Qamar said that his party was withdrawing the amendments “keeping in mind the regional situation and to send a unified message” through the house.

Then National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser put the bills, one by one, to vote in the house, the PPP and PML-N lawmakers supported them while a dozen of other opposition legislators walked out of the house in protest.

“The retirement age and service limits prescribed for a General, under the rules and regulations made under this act, shall not be applicable to the Chief of the Army Staff, during his tenure of appointment, reappointment, or extension, subject to a maximum age of sixty four (64) years,” the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Act, 2020, reads.

The amendment bill also empowers the president to “reappoint the Chief of the Army Staff for additional tenure of three years,” or extend his tenure for another three years on the advice of the Prime Minister, “in the national security interest or exigencies, from time to time.”

The federal cabinet last Wednesday approved amendments in the army, navy and air force acts in a hurriedly convened meeting to plug legal lacunae in the appointment and reappointment of services chiefs as pointed out by the Supreme Court in its verdict in November last year.

Prime Minister Khan extended General Bajwa’s tenure through a notification in August 2019, but the Supreme Court suspended it on Nov 26, 2019, citing procedural irregularities and loopholes in the relevant laws.

The court later announced that General Bajwa would remain the army chief for another six months during which parliament would legislate on army chief’s extension/reappointment.