The Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2020 would be tabled today (Friday) in the National Assembly for passage without being referred to the relevant standing committee of the house to extend the tenure(s) of the Chief of the Army Staff and Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee for three years, it is learnt.

The sources said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have decided to back the federal government's Army (Amendment) Bill in the National Assembly.

They said that a separate agenda for this legislation would be presented in the Lower House of the Parliament. They said that after the passage of the Bill from the National Assembly, it is likely to be tabled in the Senate for approval the same day.

According to the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the appointment, reappointment or extension of the chief of the army staff (COAS) and Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee will not be challenged in any court of law.

The Bill would extend the age of COAS and Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee from sixty (60) to sixty-four (64) years.

According to clause 8B of Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2020, "The President, on the advice of the Prime Minister, may reappoint the Chief of the Army Staff for additional tenure of three (03) years, or extend the tenure(s) of the Chief of the Army Staff up to three (3) years, on such terms and conditions, as may be determined by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, in the national security interest or exigencies, from time to time."

According to clause 8E of the Bill, "The President, on the advice of the Prime Minister, may reappoint Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee for additional tenure of three (03) years, or extend the tenure(s) of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee up to three (03) years, on such terms and conditions, as may be determined by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, in the national security interest or exigencies from time to time."

According to clause 8C of the Bill, "The retirement age and service limits prescribed for a General, under the Rules and Regulations made under this Act, shall not be applicable to the Chief of the Army Staff, during his tenure of appointment, reappointment, or extension, subject to a maximum age of sixty-four (64) years. Through such tenure, the Chief of the Army Staff shall continue to serve as a general in the Pakistan Army."

According to clause 8F of the Bill, "In case a general of the Pakistan Army is appointed as the Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee, the retirement age and service limits, prescribed under the Rules and Regulations made under this Act, shall not be applicable to the said general during his tenure of appointment, reappointment or extension, subject to a maximum age of sixty-four (64) years. Through such tenure, the Chairman, Joint of Staff Committee, appointed under this Act, shall continue to serve as a general in the Pakistan Army."

The move comes a day after the proposed amendments were rushed through the federal cabinet, which unanimously granted its approval for the changes, to Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Supreme Court on November 28 last year had directed the government to remove ambiguity in rules on the issue of extension in the Army Chief's tenure.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government on Thursday approached the members of opposition parties to get support for the passage of the 'Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2020' unanimously from the Parliament in order to give a three-year extension to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

A delegation of PTI lawmakers, including Defense Minister Pervez Khattak, Leader of the House in the Senate Shibli Faraz and Senator Azam Swati held meetings separately with the leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and other parties to develop consensus on Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The PTI government wants approval of the 'Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2020' from the National Assembly today (Friday) without referring it to the relevant standing committee after building a consensus with the opposition on the matter.

According to sources, Prime Minister Imran Khan would also participate in the ongoing session of the National Assembly today (Friday). The Prime Minister would also chair a meeting of his parliamentary party before participating in the session.

A delegation of PTI lawmakers, including Defense Minister Pervez Khattak, Leader of the House in the Senate Shibli Faraz and Senator Azam Swati met Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders on Thursday morning in the chamber of opposition leader. The PML-N assured its support for the proposed amendments. The PML-N delegation comprised Khawaja Asif, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Rana Tanvir, among others.

PML-N Senator Mushahidullah Khan, while talking to media, said that the party leadership in London has given the nod to support the amendment through consensus.

According to sources, the PML-N has decided to unconditionally back the amendments made to the Army Act by the PTI government in order to facilitate the extension in service of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The sources said the decision was made after a meeting of PML-N parliamentary members received a message from the party leadership on Thursday, advising the party to fully back the amendment bill when it is tabled in the Parliament by the government.

They said that the PML-N leadership does not want to make the position of COAS controversial, and has thus decided to support the PTI government in a bid to amend the Army Act under the directions of a verdict of the Supreme Court in this regard.

Separately, a delegation of government led by Pervaiz Khattak and including Qasim Suri and Ali Mohammad Khan met Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at the Zardari's House in Islamabad on Thursday evening. The government delegation briefed the chairman PPP about the proposed legislation regarding the Army Act.

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, Sherry Rehman, Raza Rabbani, Shazia Marri and Naveed Qamar were also present on the occasion.

Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed concern that in the legislation about the Army Act, parliamentary rules and regulations are not being followed and asked the government delegation to act according to parliamentary rules and regulations.

The chairman PPP in a message said, "Government committee arrived at Zardari House to discuss upcoming legislation. The Peoples Party wants to positively engage with the democratic legislative process. Some parties seem to sidestep the legislative process. The more important the legislation, the more important it is for us to follow the democratic process. The PPP will take this up with other political parties as well."

Speaker National Assembly Assad Qaiser also convened a meeting (in-camera) of the 33-member of Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Legislative Affairs in the Parliament House. Federal Minister for Defense Pervez Khattak chaired the committee meeting.

The committee members including federal ministers and government and opposition members from the National Assembly and the Senate participated in the meeting.

Ministers Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Chaudhry Tariq Bashir Chema, Mohammad Farogh Naseem, Azam Swati, Dr Khalid Maqbool Saddiqui and Ali Muhammad Khan also participated in the meeting. The members of parliamentary leaders of opposition parties also participated in the meeting.

Law Minister Dr Farogh Naseem while talking to media said that he briefed the Committee on the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and answered the questions of the members. He said that another meeting of the committee would also be held today (Friday).