ISLAMABAD: Under new clauses added to Article 243, officers elevated to the ranks of field marshal, marshal of the air force or admiral of the fleet will remain in uniform for life. They will not be removed from office except on the grounds and procedure laid down in Article 47 of the Constitution — the same article that governs the removal of the president.
Article 47 allows removal only on the basis of physical or mental incapacity or misconduct, and only if a two-thirds majority of parliament approves an impeachment resolution following a formal inquiry.
The bill also states that the provisions of Article 248, which protect the president from prosecution, will apply “mutatis mutandis” to these officers. This means that no criminal proceedings, arrest or imprisonment process can be initiated against them while they hold their lifelong rank.
Separately, through Clause 45, the amendment also rewrites Article 248, granting the president lifetime immunity from criminal proceedings.
No court may initiate or continue a case against the president “for his life” and no process for arrest or imprisonment may be issued against him. Governors retain immunity during their tenure.
The clause explicitly adds the phrase “notwithstanding any judgment of any court”, effectively nullifying previous judicial interpretations that had limited immunity to the president’s term in office