Army will ask to roll back COAS extension law

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 05 Jan 2023

Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League N senior vice president Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that the Pakistan Army will itself ask to reverse the army chief’s extension law as it “creates ambiguity for the institution.”

He was talking to a private news channel program where he spoke on a number of issues, including the army’s perceived engagement in politics, the opposition’s long march, and electronic voting machines.

“It is the government’s prerogative to extend the army chief’s tenure. The government gave the extension and the army accepted it. After this, the institution shouldn’t have been embarrassed.”

But the issue went to the Supreme Court. There were precedents of extension in the past, yet the court asked Parliament to ratify it.

“The Parliament endorsed the extension but the mistake was the amendment in the law. It was not right and you will see that it will be reversed.”

When asked whether his party will repeal the law if it forms the government, he said that not only the PMLN, the army will ask to reverse it because it creates an ambiguity which is not in the army’s favor.

Government MNAs were coerced

Abbasi said that the PTI’s members and coalition partners were unhappy with the mini-budget as no one wants to carry the burden of inflation. But still their numbers were complete.

“I am telling you what the government’s own members and coalition partners told us. They didn’t want to vote for this bill, but phone calls were made to complete numbers. The same thing happened in Parliament’s joint sitting.”

We need to learn that unless unconstitutional interference keeps happening our country cannot progress.

Jehangir Tarin to PMLN

“Everything is possible in politics. If two parties mutually agree in politics. If he [Tarin] is willing to come and we accept him, then a decision will be made.”

But, resolving differences and accepting former PMLN leader Chaudhry Nisar will be difficult as he jumped ship when the going got tough.

“Chaudhry Nisar has differences with the party. He has not been with the party for the past four years. If you are not there in tough times, your acceptance in the party becomes difficult.”

Insistence on EVM raises doubts

When there is an attempt to conduct elections through a system that is not used around the world, it raises doubts.

In our country, elections are stolen. There is no weakness in the system. The problem is unconstitutional interference that needs to be stopped, he said.

“Take the last general elections. Only one part of it was electronic and rigging happened there. It was a basic record transfer system. That system was shut, results were changed.”

He hinted at challenging the decision to conduct elections on EVMs in court but said that he is hopeful the ECP will fulfill its constitutional responsibility.