ISLAMABAD: In its bid to defend the passage of six amendment bills in the parliament, including one extending the fixed tenure of services chiefs up to five years and the other increasing number of judges in the apex and high courts, the government stood firm on the stance that the legislation was not carried out for a single person.
Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar said that the tweaks were not introduced suddenly, as consultation was ongoing and Pakistan People’s Party also taken into confidence.
Tarar’s remarks came in the wake of the passage of the six bills approved by both the Senate and the National Assembly a day earlier, which turned into law after acting president Yusuf Raza Gilani signed them.
Gilani signed all six bills including the Supreme Court Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Islamabad High Court (Amendment) bill, 2024.
“Extending the tenure to five years will not affect the institution’s merit-based system,” said Tarar, adding that the government also addressed the uncertainty regarding the appointment of the army chief.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, on Tuesday, tabled the six bills which also inlcude the one seeking an increase to the number of judges in the Supreme Court up to 34 in a bid to clear the backlog of cases.
In addition to this, the minister presented a bill seeking to amend the SC (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023, aiming to include additions made in the 26th Constitutional Amendment, including the introduc-tion of constitutional benches.
The bill sought to add Article 191A of the Constitution — the creation of constitutional benches — to the preamble.
Furthermore, the bill proposed another amendment to ensure that the act came into force at the same time as the 26th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2024.
Moreover, another bill — Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2024 — seeking an increase in number of judges from nine to 12 in IHC was also passed.
Meanwhile, the bill to amend the Pakistan (Army/Air Force/Navy) Act Amendment, 2024, was pre-sented in both houses by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.
The parliament also adopted the Pakistan Air Force Act, 1953 and the Pakistan Navy Amendment Bill, 1961. It also proposed an amendment to Section 8C, which deals with the retirement age, which is 64 years, and service limits of service chiefs.
Commenting on the number of judges, Tarar maintained that having 34 judges is not necessary, the amendment mentions that the number could increase to that extent.
“The number of judges will be increased depending on the cases during summer and winter vaca-tions,” he said, adding that the demand of increase in the number came from the bar councils.
He added that the government’s first attempt was to establish a constitutional court, but that was not done. “Legislation related to the judiciary was not done keeping any personality in front.” –Agencies
