By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday pushed through a rapid cascade of legislative changes that reshape the country’s military command structure and further alter its judicial architecture, less than 24 hours after President Asif Ali Zardari signed the controversial 27th Constitutional Amendment into law.
Within minutes of the defence minister’s introduction, the National Assembly approved three service-act amendments and a separate Supreme Court bill — all without debate and all by majority vote. The entire process took nine minutes.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif tabled the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill 2025, the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill 2025, and the Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill 2025. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar followed with the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2025.“These are not new laws,” Tarar told the house. “These are amendments to the present laws” designed to bring existing statutes into line with the newly enacted 27th Amendment.
The most far-reaching change elevates the chief of army staff to the new position of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), a post with a fixed five-year term that begins anew from the date of notification. The incumbent army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, will see his current tenure effectively restart once he is formally notified as CDF.
The amendments simultaneously abolish the position of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) and replace it with a Commander of the National Strategic Command (CNSC), a three-year appointment made by the prime minister from serving army generals on the recommendation of the army chief. The CNSC’s term may be extended for additional three-year periods at the prime minister’s discretion. The bills explicitly state that any decision on appointment, reappointment, or extension “shall not be called into question before any Court on any ground whatsoever.” The air force and navy amendments simply delete all references to the CJCSC.
The Supreme Court amendment eliminates the constitutional bench created only months earlier and aligns the court’s procedures with the judicial restructuring introduced by the 27th Amendment. The speed and scope of Thursday’s legislative sprint followed a turbulent 48-hour period that began when the Senate, after a second vote forced by National Assembly changes, approved the 27th Amendment itself.
Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani announced the result: 64 votes in favor, 4 against. As the count proceeded clause by clause, opposition lawmakers shouted “Aain ki tabahi, na manzoor” — “Destruction of the Constitution, unacceptable.” Gilani repeatedly called for order.
The amendment’s passage turned in part on two senators who broke with their parties. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Saifullah Abro and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl)’s Ahmed Khan both voted with the government. Abro announced his resignation from the Senate on the floor immediately afterward; Mr. Khan was expelled by his party. Opposition senators demanded the votes be disallowed under Article 63-A, which governs defection.
Tarar countered that the constitutional process for disqualification — declaration by the party head, review by the presiding officer, referral to the Election Commission, and possible Supreme Court appeal — had not been completed. Until it is, he insisted, both senators remained valid members. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar defended the defectors. “I don’t call it defection,” he said. “I call it voting in line with your conscience.” Treasury benches thumped desks in approval.
PTI Senator Ali Zafar accused the government of orchestrating the breaks. “They are promoting lotacracy and fraud,” he said. “It is shameful.”
President Zardari’s assent came hours after the Senate vote. A summary signed by the president reads in part: “The Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2025, is assented to, as advised by the prime minister.” Among other provisions, the 27th Amendment creates a new Federal Constitutional Court, changes the method of appointing the chief justice of Pakistan after the current chief justice retires, and strengthens Article 6 to make any future validation of constitutional abrogation — a reference to past military coups — impossible in any court.
Tarar told the Senate the changes were meant to “block martial laws and uphold democracy.” Opposition lawmakers called the package an attempt to entrench government influence over the judiciary and consolidate power in the military high command.
The president is expected to administer the oath to the first chief justice of the new Federal Constitutional Court as early as Friday. The government has described the entire package — constitutional amendment plus Thursday’s service-act changes — as necessary modernisation and harmonisation. Critics, including human-rights groups and much of the legal community, have warned that the measures risk subordinating both the judiciary and the civilian oversight of the military to executive and military preferences at a time when Pakistan’s powerful army is already seen as the country’s ultimate political arbiter.
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