Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa said on Friday that he would not seek further extension of his tenure that ends on November 29, stressing that the army has distanced itself from domestic politics. Decided to remove.
He expressed these views while addressing a security workshop in Islamabad. According to journalists attending the workshop, the army chief said the army had decided to remain “apolitical”.
This statement of General Bajwa has come out on the same day when the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) declared former Prime Minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan guilty of false statements in the Tosha Khana reference and disqualified him as a Member of Parliament.
This is not the first time that the army has directly discussed the extension of COAS Bajwa.
In April, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar made it clear that Bajwa neither wanted nor would accept an extension.
This statement by the ISPR came out during a press conference a few days after the removal of Imran Khan from the post of Prime Minister through a vote of no confidence. During the presser, the head of the army’s media wing also claimed that the army is “apolitical”.
The statements by senior army officers came amid accusations that the army meddles in the country’s politics, often favoring one political party or the other.
The appointment of the next army chief is also sometimes cited as an important subplot in the ongoing political crisis engulfing the country.
According to Article 243(3) of the Constitution, the President appoints the Chiefs of Services on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
Bajwa’s tenure was extended by three years by the prime minister in August 2019, just three months before he retired.
The extension was questioned in the Supreme Court, which, after much debate, allowed the COAS to remain in office for six months and gave the government six months to legislate on the matter.
This legislation was introduced in January 2020. However, the legislation set an age of 64 at which a service chief must retire.
General Bajwa, still 61, may therefore be eligible for another term. However, the outgoing COAS ended all speculations about another extension when he confirmed at an event in Washington that he will step down at the end of his extended tenure in November.
