The National Assembly (NA) passes a legislative measure that would prolong the military services heads’ tenures from three to five years.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif proposes revisions to the Pakistan Army, Navy, and Air Force Acts, which were approved by a majority vote despite fierce opposition objections.
This amendment would standardize service lengths across all branches of the military by extending the term of the Chief of Army Staff and chiefs of other branches to five years.
The House later adopted the suggestions that Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had earlier made to expand the number of judges in the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court.
In order to expand the number of Supreme Court justices to 34, Tarar proposed the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Ordinance for legislative approval.
The opposition erupted in protest and slogan-raising when the law was unveiled.
The minister informed the assembly on the bill’s contents despite the disturbance, emphasizing the need for more judicial capacity due to the thousands of pending cases at the Supreme Court’s registry.
The law minister also presented the Islamabad High Court Amendment Bill 2024, which would increase the court’s judge count from nine to twelve.
A provision permitting appeals against judgments made by constitutional benches under Article 184(3) to be considered by a larger constitutional court within 30 days, if practicable, is one of the amendments proposed by the amendment bill.
Cases prior to the 26th Constitutional Amendment are retrospectively covered by this amendment.
Sections 7-A and 7-B, among other additions, stipulate that hearings in cases must be held on a “first-in, first-out” basis.
Another significant change mandates that all Supreme Court cases, matters, and appeals be formally documented, with transcripts made publicly accessible upon request.
