ISLAMABAD  -  The Senate and the National Assembly on Monday approved at least six crucial bills to extend the fixed tenure of Services Chiefs up to five years and to increase the number of Supreme Court (SC) judges to 34 amid strong protests by the opposition in both the houses of the Parliament.

The coalition government swiftly carried out legislation by passing with majority bills including “The Supreme Court Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill, 2024”, “The Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2024”, “The Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill, 2024”, “The Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill, 2024” and others. The House with majority of votes approved legislative business to the laws that deal with all three branches of the Armed Forces, extending the fixed tenure of services chiefs up to five years. Another legislation approved seeks to increase the number of Supreme Court (SC) judges up to 34.

In a late-night development, Acting President Yousaf Raza Gilani signed the bills into law after both houses of the Parliament passed them with majority.

The opposition members, throughout the proceedings, kept raising anti-government slogans as they strongly opposed the legislation about increasing the number of judges. They in protest also left their seats and gathered around the Speaker’s podium with a visible attempt to disrupt the proceedings.

The House echoed with ‘No’ from opposition benches and ‘Yes’ from the treasury benches when the minister for law first moved a motion regarding increase in the number of the judges. This practice remained continue till the passage of the bill. The opposition members chanting slogans also tore apart copies of the bills and kept throwing in air. In a bid to avoid disruption during the legislative business, some of the young treasury benches members also calmly stood near them.

The chair, despite the strong voices of protest from opposition benches, read out clauses which were approved with the majority of vote.

Ignoring the protest’s voices, Minister for law Azam Nazeer Tarar and Minister for Defence Khwaja Asif moved the bills clause-by-clause which was passed on the basis of numerical strength on the treasury bench. Minister for law Azam Nazeer Tarar, presenting a motion, elucidated that the judicial bodies were making complaints of pending cases because of shortage of judges to deal with cases. “The increased number of judges would help disposing of pending cases with pace,” he believed. The opposition members should patiently listen to the argument of treasury benches regarding the bill, he said endorsing the instruction of the chair to stop their protest. “They (opposition) will only protest, as they are not ready to listen,” he said, adding that the number of judges will be increased up to 34. “The main aim is to tackle the backlog of cases at the apex court and it the number of judges would be adjusted over time-based requirements,” he elucidated.

According to the clause of the bill, “On commencement of the Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2024 (XXVI of 2024), the Supreme Court of Pakistan is mandated to hear constitutional cases specifically under Articles 184, I 85(3) and 186 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan,”.

It says, “In order to make consistent the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 (XVII of 2023) with the new constitutional mandate, it is required that the said Act of 2023 shall be suitably amended.”

Another important bill [“The Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2024] regarding extending the fixed tenure of services chiefs up to five years in one of clause says, “For the expression “three (03)”, occurring twice, the expression “five (05)” shall be substituted; and after the expression “, or, the expressions”, and/or shall be substituted. It says, “In the said Act for section 8C, the following shall be substituted,

“BC. Retirement age and service limits of the Chief of the Army Staff.- 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 and/or extension.

Throughout such tenure, the Chief of the Army Staff shall continue to serve as a General in the Pakistan Army.” The statement of objects and reasons of the bill says, “the purpose of these amendments are to make consistent the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 (XXXIX of 1952), The Pakistan Navy Ordinance, 1961 (Ordinance No. XXXXV of 1961) and The Pakistan Air Force Act, 1953 (VI of 1953) with the maximum tenure of the Chief of the Army Staff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff and to make consequential amendments for uniformity in the laws,”.

The government also proposed an amendment to Section 8C, which deals with the retirement age, which is 64 years, and service limits of service chiefs.

About the retirement age and service limits of services chiefs, including COAS, CNS, and CAS, the passed bill says that the criteria for the senior military officers “shall not be applicable” to the army, navy and air force heads during their “tenure of appointment, reappointment and/or extension”.

The house also adopted the Pakistan Air Force Act, 1953 and the Pakistan Navy Amendment Bill, 1961.

Shortly after their passage from the National Assembly, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led ruling coalition on Monday bulldozed these six bills, including one extending the term of the armed services chiefs from three to five years, through the Senate amid noisy protest by the opposition.

The house passed the bills within minutes without holding any parliamentary debate or sending these to the house committees for scrutiny.

The bills were taken up through a supplementary agenda after the house passed a motion moved by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar for their immediate consideration by suspending the rules.

While Leader of the Opposition in the House Shibili Faraz was on a leave, other members of the opposition including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tore apart copies of the agenda and raised slogans of “unacceptable, unacceptable.”

Contrary to parliamentary traditions, Presiding Officer Senator Irfan Siddiqui did not allow any member of the Opposition to even utter a single line about the proposed laws on the floor and prorogued the house immediately after their approval.

The proposed pieces of legislation included the Supreme Court Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill, the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure (Amendment) Bill, the Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill, and the Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill. All will become an act of the parliament after formal approval of President Asif Ali Zardari. Law Minister Senator Tarar moved three bills, related to the superior judiciary, in the house. While Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif was the mover of the three bills linked with the extension of the services chiefs amid rumpus in the house.

The government rushed the bills related to the superior judiciary through the parliament at a time when the newly reconstituted Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) under the recently passed 26th Constitutional Amendment will meet today. The commission is tasked to appoint judges in the superior judiciary and in constitutional benches of the high courts as well as the apex court.

The SC Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill increases the number of judges of the apex court from existing 17 to 34. The government claims that the increase will help in quick disposal of around 60,000 cases in the SC.

The bills related to armed forces extend the tenures of chief of the army staff (COAS) and naval and air chiefs present from three to five years. With this, the present Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir, who was set to retire in November next year, would now complete his tenure in November 2027.

The bills also provide for the reappointment or extension in tenures of the armed services chiefs for another five years. Earlier, the period of extension was limited to three years for any service chief. Separate amendments in the Army Act 1952, the Pakistan Air Force Act 1953 and the Pakistan Navy Ordinance 1961 abolished the bar of maximum age of 64 years for the army, air force and naval chiefs in case of reappointment or extension in their services.

The amendments in all three previous laws say that the retirement age and service limits prescribes for a general, an air chief marshal or an admiral, under the rules and regulations of the said Acts, shall not be applicable to the chief of the army staff, the chief of the air staff and the chief of the naval staff, during their tenure of appointment, reappointment and or extension. Throughout each tenure, they will continue to serve as a general in the Pakistan Army or an air chief marshal in the Pakistan Air Force or an admiral in the Pakistan Navy.