SC, Attorney General discuss rules regarding tenure, duration of an army chief’s extension

by Tauqeer Abbas
209 views

Shafaqna Pakistan:The Supreme Court is hearing a case pertaining to the extension/reappointment in incumbent Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa’s tenure.

The three-year term of Gen Bajwa, who is reaching the age of superannuation [60 years] next year, as Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) is ending on Thursday and he can continue his service if the SC decides the case in his favour before Nov 29.

An SC bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Mian Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah is hearing the case. The army chief is being represented by Farogh Naseem, who resigned from his post as law minister yesterday to pursue the case, while Attorney General (AG) Anwar Mansoor Khan is arguing on behalf of the government.

At the outset of the hearing, CJP Khosa said that media had misunderstood yesterday’s proceedings and clarified that the court had not taken suo motu notice. “We are continuing your petition,” the top judge told the petitioner who was in court today.

‘What is the duration of a tenure?’
Justice Shah inquired if a retired general can be appointed as army chief, to which AG Khan said: “Maybe a retired general can be appointed [army chief] but there is no precedent.”

Justice Shah also observed that Article 243 of the Constitution talks about the appointment of an officer and asked: “Does it mention the period of appointment as well?”

Justice Shah asked if a general can continue to work if his tenure is extended two days before his retirement.

“Where does it say that it is a three-year term [for an extension]?” he asked. The attorney general admitted that the period of the tenure is not specified in the rules.

“The term tenure is used but the duration has not been specified anywhere,” AG said.

“The matter of the period of army chief’s tenure is very important,” the chief justice said. “In the past, five or six generals have granted themselves extensions. We will look at this matter closely so that this does not happen in the future.

“This is an extremely important matter [and] the Constitution is quiet about this,” he added.

“This is about the matters of extension and reappointment,” Justice Shah said. “How will you prove this legally?

The attorney general insisted that the “definition of appointment also includes reappointment”.

“The rules mention retirement and discharge,” the chief justice noted.

He observed that the federal government can only suspend a retirement after an individual retires.

He further said that the retirement of an army chief “can be temporarily delayed” if a war is underway. The attorney general, however, argued that the delay in retirement is not temporary.

The AG said that according to Article 176 of the Army Act, officials can be granted an extension of two months in case of a war.

“According to the law, during a war, the army chief can stop officers’ retirements,” the CJP noted. “However, the government wants to stop the army chief’s retirement.”

Referring to the amendment in Section 255 of the Army Rules and Regulations, the chief justice asked: “Under which section of the Constitution and law was the rule amended?”

He then pointed out that Section 255 did not concern the army chief.

“The section that you amended is not about the army chief at all,” Justice Khosa said. “Article 255 is regarding those officials who have retired or have been expelled from service.”

The attorney general explained that he had just received the amended document to which Justice Miankhel responded: “We didn’t even get that.”

The hearing was adjourned until 1pm.

As the hearing resumed, the chief justice suggested that instead of “giving answers in pieces”, it would be better if the court first understands the Army Act.

“There are two ways to go about this: we can either allow you to conclude your arguments and then read the laws or you can discuss the law first and then present your arguments,” Justice Khosa said.

“I will answer every question the court has,” AG Anwar said.

“Giving answers in pieces does no good,” the chief justice said. “How will we understand your arguments without understanding the Army Act?”

Justice Shah once again asked AG Khan if a retired general can be appointed as the army chief. The attorney general said that the appointment and tenure are decided under the 1947 Convention.

He vowed to “satisfy the court regarding the reappointment of the army chief”.

Justice Khosa emphasised that the court was looking at the rules regarding the tenure of the army chief, not a general.

“This is a court of law; it is the law we are looking at, not personalities,” Justice Khosa remarked. “If something is wrong as per the law, we cannot say that it is correct. If [the decision] is not correct as per the law, we will give our verdict.”

The attorney general, in response, urged the court “not to be so strict about the law”.

“Sometimes, the stick can break from stiffness,” he said.

“First, present your legal arguments,” the chief justice told him.

The bench told the attorney general to read out the first three chapters of the Army Act, so that the court can understand the rules.

“The matter of the tenure’s duration is surfacing again and again so tell us about that,” Justice Shah said.

The attorney general told the court that the duration of the tenure was not mentioned in the Army Act, but the rules discussed the extension in tenure.

“Rules are always drafted in line with acts and laws,” Justice Khosa said and added: “There is nothing in the act, which stops the retirement of a very capable officer.”

As AG Khan read out Section 16 and 17, the chief justice pointed out that they were regarding dismissal from employment.

The attorney general told the court that the army chief has the authority to dismiss anyone from their post.

“Can the federal government also remove someone from their post?” asked Justice Shah to which the attorney general replied: “Army chief’s powers are limited, but the federal government has complete authority. Army chief can dismiss junior officials.”

The chief justice said that the government can order the retirement of any officer, including the field marshall “voluntarily or by force”.

The attorney general argued that the “army is not a democratic institution” and that “runs through command all over the world”.

“We know that,” said Justice Shah.

AG Khan then read out the oath sworn by officers when they are appointed in the army.

“The oath of an army officer says that they would lay down their lives if need be. This is a very significant thing,” the chief justice observed.

“‘I will never involve myself in any political activities.’ This sentence is also part of the oath. It is a very good thing to stay away from political activities,” Justice Khosa remarked.

Cabinet’s approval
Earlier in the morning, as the hearing started around 9:30am, AG Khan took to the rostrum and said he wished to “clarify something”. “I referred to army rules yesterday. The court wrote ‘law’ in its order,” the AG said, to which the chief justice said: “The court had given its order after looking at your documents.”

Referring to the point raised by the court yesterday that only 11 members of the cabinet had earlier approved the extension, Justice Shah observed: “Answers were not submitted in the time fixed for cabinet members.”

“According to Rule 19, silence can mean an agreement,” the AG said.

He said that under Article 243 of the Constitution, the cabinet cannot send recommendations for the army chief’s appointment.

“If the recommendation of the cabinet is not required, then why was this matter sent to the cabinet twice?” the chief justice inquired.

“The army chief commands the military. The president appoints the army chief on the prime minister’s recommendations,” the attorney general told the court.

Justice Shah said that it is “very clear that the prime minister is the one who sends recommendations for army chief’s appointment”.

The chief justice also appreciated that the government “admitted the shortcomings pointed out yesterday and they were corrected”.

The attorney general, however, said that the points that were raised by the bench regarding government’s decision to extend Gen Bajwa’s tenure during yesterday’s hearing “had not been accepted as shortcomings”.

“If they were not accepted as shortcomings, why were they corrected?” Justice Khosa inquired.

“I will clarify this,” the AG said. “The impression that only 11 members of the federal cabinet had answered ‘yes’ is wrong.”

“If the rest answered ‘yes’, tell us how much time they took,” said Justice Khosa. “Eleven members had written ‘yes’ in the document you submitted yesterday.

“If you have received a new document then show it to us.”

Suspension of notification
In an unanticipated development on Tuesday, CJP Khosa had suspended the federal government’s notification of Gen Bajwa’s extension and issued notices to the army chief, defence ministry and the federal government.

The Supreme Court said the AG could not refer to any provision in any legal instrument regarding extension in service of the army chief upon completion of his first term for his re-appointment.

Shortly after the extension order was struck down by the top court, the cabinet amended Section 255 of the Army Rules and Regulations (ARR) and included the words “extension in tenure” to meet the legal lacuna in the rule.

It also emerged that the federal cabinet in its two sittings, Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Dr Arif Alvi approved a fresh notification for the extension of the COAS.

It is pertinent to mention that over the past two decades, Gen Raheel Sharif is the only army chief to have retired on time.

Tuesday’s court proceedings
The chief justice a day earlier rejected an application for the withdrawal of a petition that was filed against Gen Bajwa’s extension after noting that both the appellant and his lawyer were absent from the court. He took up the original petition in public interest under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution.

During yesterday’s hearing, AG Khan, who was in attendance inside the courtroom on his own when called upon by the court, presented photocopies of documents leading to an order passed by the president approving the summary sent to him by the prime minister along with his advice for extension/reappointment of Gen Bajwa as COAS for a fresh term of three years after expiry of his first term in office.

The court then went through the documents and noticed a number of defects like the summary for extension was initially moved by the defence ministry. Justice Khosa had observed that “the summary and approval of the army chief’s extension is not correct”.

The order said that Prime Minister Imran Khan himself had passed an order appointing the current army chief for a second term on August 19, whereas under Article 243 of the Constitution it is the President who is the appointing authority for that office.

That mistake, the order said, came to the prime minister’s notice straight away and on the same day i.e. August 19 a summary was moved from the PM Office to the president who approved it and the premier’s advice was apparently accepted and acted upon.

The top court further observed that it appeared that even that process was found to be flawed and on that very day it was realised that the prime minister or the president could not take these actions without the approval of the cabinet and, thus, on August 20, a summary was moved for approval of the cabinet.

Following yesterday’s court hearing, the federal cabinet passed a fresh notification that was approved by the president on the same day.

You may also like