ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir’s tenure for five years will recommence following his notification as Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), an amendment in the Army Act as okayed by the National Assembly with the passage of Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill 2025 stated on Thursday.
The Lower House of Parliament passed four bills to make Acts relating to armed forces and the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 consistent with the 27th Amendment to the Constitution.
The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2025, the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill, 2025 were passed after introducing the same supplementary agenda. With amendments to the previous Army Act, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) will concurrently be Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF) for five years.
The tenure of COAS – Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir -- will also re-commence with the issuance of new notification. The provisions of Article 243 of the Constitution, applicable to a Field Marshal, shall apply where a General is promoted to the rank.
The federal government may, on the recommendation of the COAS, concurrently the Chief of the Defence Forces, and by order in writing, authorise the officer appointed as Vice Chief of the Army Staff or Deputy Chief of the Army Staff to exercise and perform such of the powers and functions vested in the COAS under an law, rules, regulations, orders or instructions for the time being in force as may be so specified.
Law Minister Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar told the House that four bills were okayed by the federal cabinet at its meeting on Thursday and may be taken up as supplementary agenda. The National Assembly also adopted motions to allow suspension of rules to avert referring bills to the standing committee for discussion and approval and passed these bills immediately after introduction in the House.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also present in the House. The government also accommodated a private member bill titled the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2025. The bill moved the PPP parliamentarian Dr Sharmila Faruqui was passed by the House amid protest from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) members who termed its various clauses un-Islamic. According to an amendment to the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, the COAS will concurrently be Chief of the Defence Forces.
An explanation in the bill says that on issuance of the first notification, the Army Chief, concurrently the Chief of the Defence Forces, the incumbent Chief of Army Staff shall be deemed to have recommenced from the date of such notification. The federal government shall determine the duties, functions and responsibilities of the Chief of Defence Forces but not limited to his functions and responsibilities regarding multi domain integration, necessary restructuring and optimum jointness of armed forces. As per another amendment, the post of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) will be abolished and will be substituted with the Commander of the National Strategic Command for an initial tenure of three years.
The prime minister may, on the recommendation of COAS, concurrently the Chief of Defence Forces, appoint the Commander of the National Strategic Command, from amongst Generals in the Pakistan Army, for a tenure of three years. The Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill, 2025 envisages omission of sections 10D, 10E and 10F of the Pakistan Air Force Act, 1953 which relates to appointment of PAF Chief as the CJCSC by the president on advice of the prime minister, tenure of the CJCSC, retirement and extension. The words ‘Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee’ have also been omitted in other sections of Pakistan Air Force Act.
The Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill, 2025 also provides of omission of Sections 14D, 14E and 14 F of the Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Act, 1961 regarding appointment of the Naval Chief as the CJCSC by the president on prime minister’s advice, his tenure, extension and retirement. The word ‘‘Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee’ have also been omitted in other sections.
The House also passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2025 which provides that every petition, appeal or review application before the Supreme Court shall be heard and disposed of a bench constituted by the committee comprising the chief justice, the next most senior judge in order of seniority and a judge to be nominated by the chief justice. It also says if a member for any reason is unable to attend committee meeting, the chief justice may nominate any other judge.
The bill also provides omission of sections containing words “Constitutional Benches’ in the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 (XVII of 2023). The purpose of this Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2025 is to address and significantly reduce domestic violence in the Islamabad Capital Territory by establishing a comprehensive legal framework that ensures the protection, support and safety of victims. The legislation will help in establishing an effective system to prevent men, women, transgenders, children and any vulnerable person against domestic violence.
This legislation aims to define domestic violence, outline preventive measures and provide accessible legal recourse and support systems for those affected. The law will also hold perpetrators accountable for their actions and work toward the elimination of domestic violence in all its forms, including physical, emotional, psychological and financial abuse, within the federal capital territory.
Any person committing the crime shall face simple imprison of three years and not less than six months. Earlier, the federal government made significant decisions to harmonise national legislation pertaining to defence with the recently enacted 27th Constitutional Amendment.
The cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held here at the Parliament House, a PM Office news release said. The cabinet approved amendments to the Pakistan Army Act, the Pakistan Air Force Act and the Pakistan Navy Act. The revisions aimed to bring the laws governing the armed forces in line with changes introduced under Article 243 of the Constitution. A major decision approved under the prime minister’s leadership included the creation of the office of the Chief of Defence Forces, with a defined tenure. Correspondingly, the post of CJCSC will be abolished after the retirement of the incumbent chairman.
Additionally, the amendments introduced new honorary ranks of Field Marshal, Marshal of the Air Force and Admiral of the Fleet, reflecting modern and contemporary military structures and operational needs. The PM emphasised that these changes were part of a broader reform agenda to ensure that Pakistan’s defence framework keeps pace with modern warfare requirements and global standards. In other decisions, the cabinet also approved the draft Federal Constitutional Court (Procedure and Practice) Act, 2025, aimed at establishing procedures for the newly proposed judicial body.
Furthermore, the cabinet ratified the decisions taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in its meeting held on November 7, 2025. Meanwhile, the government managed to get the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill passed from the Senate Thursday with a mandatory two-thirds majority, as both ‘renegade’ members voted for the legislation, which was brought in the House again after some changes were made in it in the National Assembly a day earlier.
But before the procedure was adopted for the passage of the bill by clause by clause reading, the opposition started agitation and strongly objected to impending votes by the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF)’s expelled Saifullah Abro and Ahmad Khan respectively, arguing as per Article 63-A, they could do so. However, Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazeer contended that how could the two lawmakers automatically be disqualified when the laid down procedure/ process had not been started, what to talk of its culmination.
After the head count and then division method voting on the bill through clause by clause reading, the Chair said 64 votes had been cast in favour of the bill and four against it. “So the motion is carried by the votes of not less than twothirds of the total membership of Senate, and consequently, the bill stands passed,” he announced. During the clause by clause reading of the bill, the House echoed with slogans like ‘destruction of the Constitution, unacceptable’, prompting the Chair to say at one point, ‘no slogans’ please.
Speaking on the changes and the bill’s salient features, the law minister said the incumbent Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) would continue to hold this post until he held the office. Following his retirement, he said the senior among the top-most judges of the Supreme Court and the proposed Federal Constitutional Court would have the title of the CJP.
According to the proposed amendment, he pointed out that the Chief Justice of Pakistan would administer the oath to the president, chief election commissioner and auditor general for Pakistan. Minister Tarar also spoke about changes to Article 6 of the Constitution, which deals with the subject of treason, and said the provision would now read: “Any court in Pakistan, be it the Federal Constitutional Court that will now, God willing, be established, the Supreme Court or high courts, cannot validate the abrogation (of the Constitution) and that it was like blocking martial laws and upholding democracy.”
Before the legislation was adopted, PTI’s parliamentary leader Barrister Syed Ali Zafar was on his feet to remark, “They want to establish their constitutional court at the earliest so that they can control it. And the reason behind the haste is the fear of one person, who is in jail a few miles away from here and once he is out, he will instantly demolish their entire building with one go.”
He alleged that the 27th Amendment was based on deceit, lie and fraud and claimed that the proposed legislation did not have the people’s support. Earlier, immediately after Law Minister Tarar tabled the bill in the Senate, Senator Ali Zafar pointed out that the House would be voting for the second time on the constitutional amendment.
The PTI lawmaker continued that the amendment would need the support of a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which meant at least 64 votes and noted that during the voting on Monday on the bill, his party’s Saifullah Abro and another senator from the JUIF had voted in favour of the amendment and against the respective party line.
He said that in such case, Article-63-A automatically is applied and they stand disqualified while one of them (Abro) also said on the floor of the House that he was resigning as a senator. JUIF’s Senator Kamran Murtaza also made similar remarks and chided the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) for forcing their senator to vote for the legislation. “Consequently, votes of these two will not be counted, otherwise, Mr Chairman, we will have to challenge the entire process.
While we raised our voice against ‘lotaism’, the leading parties thumped desks to support the defectors, which show they support corruption and cheating,” he asserted. Kamran Murtaza complained that one of their members was won over, who voted in favour of the amendment, and it could not have been a choice he made out of his own good conscience. “We have spent our time with the ruling PMLN in a respectful manner. But we were also disgraced and I think it was unfair,” he noted.
He said that the defecting senator from the JUIF, Ahmed Khan, had been expelled from the party, his resignation as a senator had been sought, and the party had also sought the invocation of Article 63-A. Kamran Murtaza insisted Ahmad Khan had no right to still vote against the party line and betray the party’s trust. At one point, opposition lawmakers walked out of the House. T h e S e n a t e c h a i r m a n responded that so far he had received no resignation, then how could it be forwarded as a reference to the Election Commission of Pakistan. He recalled once PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi had announced on the floor of NA that he was resigning and later on, when members were called for verification of their handwriting before the speaker, none turned up. Leader of the House Ishaq Dar said that a member, who gives his vote according to his free mind and conscience, he can, but there is a price to pay, and that he be disqualified but there is a procedure to follow, adding Article 63-A can’t trigger automatically.
He also insisted that such vote would be counted as per law and the Constitution. He recalled how the-then speaker, despite moving of the no-trust motion, had not summoned the NA session for a month and then within minutes, the assembly was dissolved in disregard to the rules. The law minister also maintained that if a member voted against the party line on no-confidence motion, budget or money bill and constitutional amendments, the party head could send a reference against them to the presiding officer; the presiding officer in the NA would be the speaker and Senate chairperson in the upper house of parliament. He remarked, “Correct me if I am wrong.
We shouldn’t distort the provisions of the Constitution for political pointscoring.” Tarar said the chairman had two days to examine the reference and forward it to the chief election commissioner, if he had received the reference in writing. Moreover, he continued, the party head was also required to call the relevant member for a hearing before sending a reference against him. The law minister said the matter is eventually referred to the ECP, where a hearing is held. “And if a de-seating order is issued against anyone, then he has a right to appeal in the Supreme Court and that until this process is formally culminated, a member would not be disqualified.” As far as the issue of resignation was concerned, he stressed, the relevant member had to submit their resignation in writing to the Senate chairman, who would then give a ruling on it.
The House will now meet again Friday morning. A major change introduced through the bill is the complete omission of Section 5, which previously granted a right of appeal against decisions taken under Article 184(3). With its removal, that provision will no longer form part of the law. The bill further states that the amended Act will be deemed to have come into force from the date on which the Twenty-Seventh Constitutional Amendment becomes operative. Later, President Asif Ali Zardari gave the assent to the 27th Constitutional Amendment, formally making it part of the Constitution. The summary signed by the president says, “The Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2025, is assented to, as advised by the prime minister.”
The amendment had earlier been passed by both the houses of parliament -- the National Assembly and Senate -- separately with the required two-thirds majority. The Senate Secretariat later issued the gazette notification of the amendment following the assent of the president. Meanwhile, the opposition in the National Assembly unanimously rejected the 27th Amendment as a plot against democracy and judiciary, and vowed to peacefully protest at the national level against this ‘unconstitutional move’. Proposed leader of the opposition Mehmood Khan Achakzai presided over a meeting here, which was participated by PTI lawmakers.
“The meeting unanimously rejected the 27th Constitutional Amendment, calling it a conspiracy against democracy and the judiciary. The members decided that the PTI will peacefully protest at the national level against this unconstitutional move,” says a statement issued after the meeting.
The participants of the meeting expressed deep concern over the ‘illegal detention’ of PTI founder chairman Imran Khan and decided to take political and legal steps for his immediate release. Achakzai said that Imran Khan is a symbol of the survival of democracy and millions of people stand with him. The parliamentary party appreciated the peace jirga held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and demanded that the resolutions for peace and stability passed in the jirga be implemented immediately. Speaking to the media after the meeting, former NA Speaker Asad Qaiser said that the 27th Amendment is a violation of the Constitution and parliamentary traditions. He described the resignations of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah as an example of the supremacy of the Constitution.