The Defense Ministry on Friday officially notified Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir as the country’s first Chief of Defense Forces (CDF), a day after the President approved the appointment on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
He CDF positioncreated under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, will replace the now abolished position of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), which formally term on November 27. It would be a dual-purpose position combined with the position of army chief.
A day earlier, a press release from the presidency said that the president approved the appointment of the army chief along with a two-year extension in the tenure of Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu.
The president expressed his best wishes to both military commanders for their upcoming terms.
Prime Minister Shehbaz had conveyed his best wishes to Field Marshal Munir.
“Under the leadership of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, our gallant armed forces inflicted a humiliating defeat on the enemy,” the statement quoted the Prime Minister as saying.
The move came after Prime Minister Shehbaz sent a summary to President Zardari recommending the appointment of the army chief.
The new agreement consolidates operational, administrative and strategic authority into a single office established through amendments to article 243 of the Constitution by virtue of the 27th Amendment.
The revised Article 243 states that the president, on the advice of the prime minister, will appoint the chief of the army staff, who will at the same time act as head of the defense forces.
Restoration of five-year tenure
To translate the constitutional reform into the military legal framework, the government amended the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952 in the wake of the 27th Amendment.
Subsection (i) of Article 8A of the PAA now states that “for the first appointment of the chief of the army staff, simultaneously the chief of the defense forces […]The term of office under this article shall begin from the date of notification of said position.”
It explains that after the issuance of the notification for the first COAS-plus-CDF, “the current term of office of the current Chief of the Army Staff will be deemed to be restarted from the date of such notification.”
As per sub-section (iii) of Article 8A, the “terms and conditions” of the COAS simultaneously with the CDF shall be determined by the President in consultation with the Prime Minister.
Field Marshal Munir was fixed army chief on 29 November 2022, becoming the 17th army chief to assume command of the Pakistan Army.
In November 2024, the government introduced changes to the PAA, extending the mandate of the three service chiefs from three to five years, while keeping the mandate of the CJCSC unchanged at three years. The same amendments allowed service chiefs to be re-elected and/or for their terms to be extended for up to five years, instead of up to three years.
Therefore, in line with the restructuring under the 27th Amendment, the recent changes to the PAA allow the president, on the advice of the prime minister, to reappoint the COAS-plus-CDF for another five years, or extend his term for up to five years, creating legal space for him to retain his position until December 2035.
More to follow
