ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaj Asif confirmed that the government was making amendments in the Pakistan Army Act.
Through a tweet, he, nonetheless, said that the government was not considering any major change in the PAA, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has demanded review of some clauses of the act which will be completed in due course.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif attempted to downplay the debate on a proposal to amend the Pakistan army act ahead of the appointment of new army chief before Nov 29.
The amendments proposed in the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952 are related to the army’s functioning, structure, command, and terms and conditions of service.
However, amendments to Section 176 are currently the centre of attention, especially the insertion of the words “retention” and “resignation” in sub-section 2(a) of the same clause.
Media hype over amendments in Pakistan Army Act is uncalled for. Government is not considering any major changes in the said Act. SCP had demanded review of relevant clauses of PAA in its judgement in CP 39/2019 which shall be complied with in due course.
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) November 16, 2022
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif contended in a tweet that the proposed amendments package was required as per the Supreme Court verdict of 2019, which had called for legislating on the tenures of the services chiefs.
There is speculations on social media that the government either would retain General Bajwa or a Lt-General for his appointment as new army chief.
On Wednesday, the government first denied any changes to the army act, but defence minister confirmed it, nilly-willy, after observing a flood of tweets and posts on social media networks.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
