President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday gave his assent to three bills, including one to restore the tenure of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir following his appointment as chief of defense forces (CDF).
The President gave his assent to the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill 2025, Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill 2025 and Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill 2025. The PPP also shared notifications of the same on social media platform X.
With its approval, the bills have become part of the Constitution.
As explained by Justice Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar in the National Assembly (NA) earlier this week, it now means that the CDF’s five-year tenure will begin from the date of its appointment notification.
The three laws, which were hastily passed by Parliament without any debate earlier this week, fall under the controversial 27th Amendment.
The amendment, which has paved the way for the establishment of a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) and changes to the military leadership structure, has been harshly criticized by the opposition.
Under the new changes, the term “chief of staff of the army” will be replaced by “chief of the defense forces” under the 27th Amendment. Likewise, the expression “Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee” (CJCSC) will be replaced by “commander of the National Strategic Command.”
Further, changes have been made in Section 8A of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, which says that “provided that for the first appointment of the chief of army staff and simultaneously that of chief of defense forces under paragraph (a) of Clause 4 of Article 243 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the tenure under this section shall commence from the date of notification of such office.”
Another change concerns the appointment of the commander of the National Strategic Command says: “The prime minister may, on the recommendation of the chief of army staff and at the same time chief of the defense forces, appoint the commander of the National Strategic Command, from among the generals of the Pakistan Army, for a term of three years.” The proposed amendment also authorizes the prime minister to “reappoint the commander… for an additional three-year term and/or extend the term… up to three years” as recommended by the CDF.
Under the changes, the appointment, reappointment or extension of the commander of the National Strategic Command, or the “exercise of discretion by the appointing authority in this regard, will not be challenged in any court for any reason.”
In addition, the federal government may, upon the recommendation of the Chief of Army and simultaneously of the FDC and by written order, “authorize the officer designated as Vice Chief of Staff of the Army or Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army to exercise and perform the powers and functions vested in the Chief of Staff of the Army in accordance with any law, rule, regulation, order or instruction for the time being in force and as may be specified.”
Meanwhile, changes to air force and navy laws include the removal of the CJCSC position from their documents.
