President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday gave his assent to three key bills, including one that resets the tenure of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir following his appointment as Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF).
The President also approved the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill 2025. With this assent, the bills have now become part of the Constitution, as confirmed by notifications shared by the PPP on social media platform X.
According to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, the five-year tenure of the CDF will now commence from the date of notification of his appointment.
These bills were hurriedly passed by Parliament earlier this week without debate and relate to the 27th Amendment, which has also facilitated the establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) and introduced structural changes to Pakistan’s military leadership, drawing criticism from the opposition.
Under the new provisions of the Pakistan Army Act, the term “chief of the army staff” is replaced with “chief of the defence forces,” while the post of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) is replaced with “commander of the National Strategic Command.” Section 8A has been amended to clarify that the tenure of the first CDF begins from the date of notification.
Additionally, the prime minister, on the recommendation of the army chief and concurrently the CDF, can appoint the commander of the National Strategic Command from among Pakistan Army generals for a three-year term, with the option to reappoint or extend the tenure by up to three years. Such appointments or extensions cannot be challenged in court.
The federal government may also authorize the vice chief or deputy chief of the army staff to exercise certain powers of the COAS under existing laws, rules, or regulations. Similar changes to air force and navy laws include the elimination of the CJCSC post from their respective documents, reflecting a broader restructuring of Pakistan’s military command framework.
These amendments formalize the tenure reset for Field Marshal Asim Munir and consolidate authority within the newly established positions under the 27th Amendment.
