Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that he is yet to make up his mind regarding a new extension to the current Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
PM Khan also said that the relationship between his government and the Pakistan Army has been “ideal”, as per a report by the Express Tribune. He added that the current tenure of Gen Bajwa is due by November 28, 2022 and hence he does not feel the urgency to move fingers on the matter.
On 19 August 2019, the prime minister’s office had issued an official notification which granted a three-year extension to General Bajwa’s tenure as the army chief. General Bajwa was appointed to the coveted position within the Pakistani military by Khan’s predecessor, Nawaz Sharif in November 2016. This extension had assumed significance in view of India’s official revocation of article 370 which ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir thereby ending the state’s legal autonomy. PM Khan cited “regional developments” as a justification for the extension. However, the Supreme Court of Pakistan nullified the order in November 2019. It argued that the extension had no legal justification. It did, nevertheless, grant a six-month extension to General Bajwa as the government convinced them that they will introduce legal changes to rationalise the new tenure.
The government, after securing support from the opposition, introduced and passed three bills, including an amendment to the Army Act of 1952. The legal changes brought about increased the retirement age of chiefs of Army, Air Force and the Navy personnel from 60 to 64 years. The bills hence smoothened the process of appointment and reappointment of the chiefs and extension of their respective service. Dismissing the reports of reproachment and collusion between the Army and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, he said that his mandate to serve the country is till 2023 and that his relationship with the Army Chief is cordial. Recently, PM Khan had a confrontation with General Bajwa over the appointment of the new ISI Chief which, per media reports, had eroded the latter’s institutional support to the former’s government.
