ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Former law minister Farogh Naseem on Thursday said that the decision of the court was a victory for democracy and a win for the supremacy of law and Constitution.
Flanked by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar and Attorney General of Pakistan Anwar MansoorKhan on Thursday, Farogh Naseem said, “General Bajwa’s tenure will begin from midnight today (Thursday).” The tenure of the army chief will begin from tonight. The government will bring a law in six months to decide the tenure of the army chief and whatever is decided that is the right of the parliament, he added.
Naseem said that everything was fair in politics but judges and the armed forces should not be dragged into it. “Our judges and the courts are protectors of our Constitution,” he said. He categorically denied reports that Prime Minister Imran or the army chief had asked him to resign. Neither the prime minister nor General Bajwa had asked him to resign. It was his own decision, he said.
Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Anwar Mansoor Khan said that the six-month extension to Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa means that the court has not closed the path while the legislation will take place within one and a half months.
Talking to a private TV channel on Thursday, he expressed that these orders were being passed for the last 70 years and they have done the same without including anything new in it. Responding to a question, AG Mansoor asserted that they would act on the verdict ruled by the court. It is not an issue as bill will be passed easily by simple majority, he added. He said that Pakistan Army is a security institution which is recognised globally.
Meanwhile, the government’s legal team met Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday and apprised him about the judicial proceedings in the case related to the extension of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s tenure.
Anwar Mansoor Khan hailed the historic verdict of the Supreme Court, which allowed the federal government to extend General Bajwa’s tenure as the army chief by six months.
The attorney general said that the problem was solved due to strength of the law. The interpretation of law and the Constitution will serve as a precedent for the future, he said. Anwar Mansoor said that the judiciary conducted hearings on the petition filed, then issued notices and a stay order was also issued. He said that the Army Act was from the pre-Partition times and no one realised there was anything in the act which needed correction.
The attorney general said that ever since the case was heard by the courts, the media presented it in a strange manner. “Our enemies abroad are taking advantage of the situation,” he said. “Please do not speak against Pakistan and provide opportunities for our enemies to do the same.”
Shehzad Akbar said that the decision given by the Supreme Court should be accepted as it was. “We should understand the verdict given by the Supreme Court in the context that it was given,” he said. “We should not say anything that affects the morale of the armed forces,” he added. He said that some external forces had presented the entire case by deliberately ignoring its context.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Thursday that the Supreme Court’s judgment proved today that the Constitution is supreme, parliament sovereign and the judiciary is independent.
In a tweet, following the keenly-awaited apex court’s verdict regarding the extension to the chief of the army staff, she maintained that under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the process of stability and strengthening of the continuity of democracy, was steadily moving Pakistan forward.
“All the state institutions are playing their role within the ambit of the Constitution in the progress and stability of Pakistan,” she tweeted.
Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda on Thursday termed the verdict given by the Supreme Court (SC) regarding the extension to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa as a great decision. Faisal Vawda in his latest media statement rejected the rumours of confrontation between state institutions. He said the government will have to gain simple majority in view of the top court’s verdict for legislation of extension of the army chief in parliament. He added that institutions have always guided the government and the federal authorities will follow the judicial orders. The minister claimed that the PTI is in a position to gain simple majority within six days.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Spokesperson Nadeem Afzal Chan has said that the federal government believes in supremacy of the parliament. Nadeem Afzal Chan while talking to journalists outside the Supreme Court was answering a question raised over bypassing the parliament after bringing back-to-back ordinances. He said that the presentation of ordinance in the parliament was not a new thing.
A journalist questioned for removal of the legal flaws from the new summary. To this he replied the summary will be produced before the top court, which would guide the government regarding it.
PTI Senator Faisal Javed on Thursday hailed the landmark decision of apex court regarding extension of Chief of Army Staff (COAS).
Expressing his heartfelt greetings in a private news channel programme, he said that present government would work on legislation as ordered by the higher judiciary of the country about the matter of conditional extension to COAS. He hoped that opposition parties would extend full cooperation in making legislation before the deadline of six months.
Senator Faisal Javed said that it was the victory of Pakistani government as well as all the institutions which sent a broad and candid message to the world. He said that the judgment showed that all the institutions were working for the larger interest of the country.
To another question, he said the wise verdict of the judiciary regarding COAS’s extension, would elevate the image of Pakistan around the world.
