Islamabad: The Pakistan government on Thursday filed a review petition against the Supreme Court’s decision about legislation on the extension of service of Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.
A three-member apex court bench headed by then chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa on November 28 granted a six-month extension to Gen Bajwa after being assured by the government that Parliament will pass a legislation on the extension/reappointment of an army chief within six months.
The ruling came in the nick of time as Gen Bajwa, 59, was set to retire at midnight on November 28. In the review petition, the government has urged the apex court to form a larger bench to hear the case and set aside the earlier judgment, Geo News reported.
The government also requested the court to keep the proceedings in-camera. The petition argues that the apex court’s verdict did not take into account “important constitutional and legal” points. It says the court has itself “been giving extensions to additional and ad-hoc judges”, making a case for the government to exercise this discretion as well, the channel reported.
Furthermore, the petition argues that the court did not base its decision on the judgement in the judges extension case. In its detailed judgement on December 16, the chief justice cautioned the government that “unbridled power or position, like unstructured discretion, is dangerous”. Prime Minister Imran Khan had extended Gen Bajwa’s tenure through a notification in August, but the Supreme Court suspended it on November 26 due to irregularities in the manner of extension. (PTI)
