Constitutional bench dismisses petition against COAS’s tenure extension

Islamabad: The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court dismissed the petition filed against the extension of the tenure of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir.

According to the details, a seven-member Constitutional Bench headed by Justice Aminuddin comprising Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Musarrat Hilali, and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan heard the petition.

The petition against the extension of the tenure of Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir was filed by Mahmood Akhtar Naqvi.

The Constitutional Bench, while pronouncing the verdict in the case, dismissed the petition on the ground of non-adherence, while the Registrar’s Office maintained its objections to the petition as inadmissible.

Last week, the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench had scheduled a total of more than 2,000 cases for hearing this week, including the extension of the Army Chief’s tenure and the formation of the Audio Leaks Commission.

Notably, earlier this month, an amendment bill was passed to increase the tenure of the heads of the three-armed forces from three to five years.

Later, the bill passed by the National Assembly and Senate to increase the tenure of the Army Chief, Air Chief, and Naval Chief was signed by Acting President Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani.