The chief of army staff’s tenure has been reduced not extended following the legislation that increased the services chiefs’ tenure from three to five years, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Monday.

“Historically, military chiefs have held their positions for 11 years and then for six years at a time,” he told a private news channel after the treasury bulldozed the bills in the National Assembly.

According to the Army Act Amendment Bill, 1952, the rules of retirement of a general in the Pakistan Army will not apply to the army chief, who will continue to work as a general in case of appointment, re-appointment or extension.

It merits here to mention that previous law mentioned that the retirement age of an army chief was 64 which the government has removed through the amendment.

The government also passed significant bills in the National Assembly, increasing the number of Supreme Court judges, including the chief justice, from 17 to 34. Additionally, the number of judges in the Islamabad High Court has been raised from eight to 12.

Furthermore, the tenure of military chiefs has been extended from 3 years to 5 years. An amendment has also been made to the Practice and Procedure Act, stipulating that the chief justice, senior judges, and the head of the constitutional bench will be included in the judges’ committee.

Sanaullah acknowledged that if JUI-F Chairman Maulana Fazlur Rehman has objections to the legislation, “it is his right, and they respect his dissenting opinion.”

He went on to add that if the opposition disagreed with the government’s legislative efforts, it should have presented their amendments during the session.

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq had asked the opposition to listen to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar first before speaking, but they seemed unwilling to engage in dialogue, the prime minister’s adviser said.

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He was of the view that the opposition often forgets that it remained in power for four years despite “losing the elections.”

While discussing the Anti-Terrorism Amendment Bill, he highlighted the deteriorating law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and similar challenges in Balochistan, emphasising that the legislation “is a necessity of the times.”

Sanaullah dismissed concerns from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf regarding the potential misuse of the bill against them, stating that “there is no truth to such claims.”