The National Assembly‘s Standing Committee on Defence unanimously approved on Monday three amendment bills pertaining to the tenure of the chiefs of the country’s armed forces, a private TV channel reported.
“The amendments were passed unanimously by the body. I congratulate the entire country and the opposition parties,” Defence Minister Pervez Khattak said, adding that the bills will now be put up for voting in the National Assembly on Tuesday. “No one has backtracked, we should avoid rumour mongering. All political parties are on the same page and are standing alongside the armed forces,” he said.
The committee had to reconvene just three days after it initially ‘approved’ the three bills aimed at regularising the tenure of the services chiefs. The committee had to be summoned again after it was established that the rules and regulations of parliament were violated in the January 3 session of the committee.
While responding to a question regarding any amendments to the bills suggested by the opposition, he said that those have been discussed.
After National Assembly’s approval, the bills will be presented in Senate Standing Committee on Defence for approval before they are tabled in the Senate. The bills will become acts of parliament once signed by the president.
Meanwhile, Law Minister Farogh Naseem told media after the approval of the bills that the opposition was looking for the creation of a role for a parliamentary committee for services chiefs’ appointment. “But I convinced them legally that the changes they are recommending require a constitutional amendment,” the law minister said. “A parliamentary committee’s role will come into play only after a constitutional amendment creates that role … and even the Supreme Court has not asked us to amend the constitution,” he said, adding that the opposition members accepted his arguments with a ‘big heart’.
Separately, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said the unified stand of all political forces on an important national issue is reflection of political maturity and strength of democracy. In a tweet, she said that unity of political parties on the national security issue is also manifestation of keeping national security, defence and national interests supreme.
She noted that the unity among the ranks in the parliament has seen the important matter moving to its logical conclusion and is a testament to the will of the politicians of the country who kept their issues on the back and gave precedence to the matter of national importance. She said the political leaders exhibited maturity in terms of decision making and proved that the country’s sovereignty, stability, and security are of the utmost importance to each and every one of them.
