Lahore, Nov 5 (PTI) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Tuesday criticised the government for extending Army Chief Gen Asim Munir’s term for two years, alleging that the move was made out of fear of party chief Imran Khan.
Pakistan’s Parliament on Monday passed legislation extending the tenure of all three armed services chiefs from three to five years.
The Parliament also adopted legislation to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court from 17 to 34.
It is widely believed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government made the legislation under the direction of the most powerful person in Pakistan, Gen Munir, who will remain in office till November 2027 after getting two years extension. “We made a grave mistake of giving General Bajwa an extension as COAS (chief of army staff), we didn’t learn from history,” Khan’s close aide Sayed Zulfi Bukhari said in a post on X on Tuesday.
Former prime minister Khan, 72, who was ousted from power in April 2022 via a no-confidence motion, had blamed former Army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa for playing a vital role against his government.
“But mistakes like the ones made before us were temporary and recognised. What happened yesterday, let alone in the speed and manner it happened, is cementing such mistakes forever,” Bukhari added.
“Making them (services chiefs) permanent in a self-implosive system, out of fear of one MAN (Imran Khan),” he said.
Bukhari further said from the 26th amendment to the bill passed and from constitutional benches to the selection of judges, “We have regularised this undeclared martial law & trampled democracy and human rights.” He asserted that trying to make the illegitimate legitimate is always very short-lived.
“Until and unless we realise and do something about it we won’t move on as one country. Time to put Pakistan first,” he said.
PTI supremo Khan has been in jail since August 2023 in multiple cases.
Undeclared martial law was also trending on social media in Pakistan on Tuesday. PTI MZ GRS GRS
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.