The Senate has approved a bill to amend laws related to the armed forces in Pakistan, allowing the chiefs of the army, navy, and air force to have a fixed tenure of up to five years. This decision follows the National Assembly's approval of the same bill on Monday.
The Law Minister, Azam Nazeer Tarar, introduced the bill, which aims to update the Pakistan Army Act of 1952, the Pakistan Navy Ordinance of 1961, and the Pakistan Air Force Act of 1953 to create uniformity regarding the maximum tenure of the military leaders. The bill specifies that the retirement age and other service limits that apply to senior military officers will not affect the chiefs of these branches during their time in office, whether they are serving, reappointed, or extended.
In particular, the amendment to the Pakistan Army Act changes the maximum tenure of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) from three to five years. Similar adjustments will also apply to the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) and Chief of Air Staff (CAS). Specifically, the bill modifies Section 8A of the Army Act to increase the tenure limit and also amends Section 8B, allowing for a five-year term instead of three.
Additionally, there is an amendment to Section 8C, which addresses the retirement age of military leaders. Currently, the retirement age for a General is set at 64 years, but this new amendment states that this age limit will not apply to the COAS during their tenure, allowing them to serve as a General while in office.
After the bills were passed, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq announced that the session would be adjourned until 11 AM the next day.