Pakistan’s parliament amends law to extend the tenure of military chiefs from 3 to 5 years

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s parliament passed legislation Monday to extend the tenures of military chiefs from three to five years, despite protests from lawmakers who said it was hastily passed without allowing comment from the opposition.

The bill promoted by the administration of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is aimed at building continuity and avoiding some of the political turmoil that usually surrounds the appointments of the army chief every three years. It also extends the tenure of the heads of the navy and air force, though those positions hold less influence and are less controversial.

It passed the National Assembly and the Senate late Monday as opposition lawmakers from the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan chanted against the measure. Some of them tore up copies of the bill and threw them at Speaker Ayaz Sadiq for not allowing debate.

A similar protest by lawmakers from Khan’s party took place when the bill was quickly passed by the Senate, where Sharif’s party also holds a majority. The bill will now go to the president for his approval.

Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022 and is serving multiple prison terms for convictions of corruption and other charges, has blamed the country’s powerful military for his ouster. Omar Ayub Khan, a top leader of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, told reporters after the bill passed that the legislation “is neither good for country nor for the armed forces.”

The army has historically wielded huge influence in Pakistan, ruling it for half of its 75-year history.

Sharif in November 2022 selected Gen. Asim Munir to a three-year term as army chief, an appointment that was opposed by Khan. If the bill passes, Munir’s term would run through November 2027.

The military is leading a fight against militants in various parts of Pakistan, and earlier Monday reported that soldiers had killed six insurgents in separate shootouts in the restive northwest, bordering Afghanistan.

A militant commander was killed in the first overnight raid in North Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said.

Five other insurgents were killed in the second raid in the nearby district of South Waziristan when a group of Pakistani Taliban tried to sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan, the statement said. Three militants were also wounded.

The military also said Pakistan had consistently been asking the Afghan Taliban government to ensure effective border management. Islamabad often accuses Kabul of turning a blind eye to militants operating near the frontier, which the Afghan authorities deny.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence, mostly blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. It is a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since then.

Munir Ahmed, The Associated Press