पाकिस्तान में आर्मी चीफ मुनीर अब सबसे ज्यादा ताकतवर: संसद में बिल पास, तीनों सेनाओं का कंमाड मिला; विपक्षी बोले- यह लोकतंत्र के खिलाफ

Pakistan’s Parliament on Wednesday approved the 27th constitutional amendment increasing the powers of Army Chief Asim Munir and reducing the power of the Supreme Court. The National Assembly passed this bill with a majority of 234 votes.

Four lawmakers voted against, even though the Senate had approved it two days earlier. This will become law after the signature of President Asif Ali Zardari. Munir is being made the Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) of the three armies. As soon as he gets this post, he will get the command of nuclear weapons.

Even after the completion of his term, he will continue to hold his post and will continue to get legal immunity for life. At the same time, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, called it against democracy. Some opposition parties tore copies of the bill.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif were present at the National Assembly session on 12 November.

Nuclear command in the hands of the army

A very special part of the 27th Constitutional Amendment is the formation of the National Strategic Command (NSC). This command will monitor and control Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and missile systems.

Till now this responsibility was with the National Command Authority (NCA), which was headed by the Prime Minister, but from now on the responsibility will be with the NSC.

Although the commander of NSC will be appointed with the approval of the Prime Minister, this appointment will be done only on the recommendation of the Chief of Army Staff (CDF). Most importantly, this post will be given only to Army officers.

With this, the control of the country’s nuclear weapons will now be completely in the hands of the army.

Special points of the bill…

Appointment of judges in the court is in the hands of the government

The bill adds eight new amendments that were not part of the earlier Senate-approved version. The biggest change is related to the judiciary. Now all constitutional matters will be removed from the Supreme Court and changed to the ‘Federal Constitutional Court’, whose judges will be appointed by the government.

In recent years, the Supreme Court had stopped many government policies and removed Prime Ministers from office, in view of which this step has been taken.

the president Will remain nominal supreme commander

Till now CJCSC used to work to create mutual coordination between the three armies. Whereas the real power used to be with the Army Chief, now both the things will be with the CDF.

In the report of Pakistani newspaper Dawn, quoting experts, it has been said that this will make the army more powerful in the country. Experts said that the ongoing amendment to the Constitution will permanently enshrine the rights of the Army in the Constitution.

This means that no future civilian government will be able to reverse these changes easily. That means, in practice, the role of ‘President Supreme Commander’ will remain only formal.

Prime Minister said- this is a step towards national unity

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described this amendment as a step towards harmony and national unity. “If we have made it a part of the Constitution today, it is not just about the Army Chief,” Sharif said.

He further said that Air Force and Navy have also been recognized in this. He asked the speaker, “What’s wrong in this? Countries respect their heroes. We know how to show respect to our heroes.”

Bilawal Bhutto said – Now there is no suo moto

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said, “After the 27th amendment, the judiciary will not have the right to take suo moto.” Referring to the tenure of former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary, he said, “We have seen that Prime Ministers and ministers were humiliated in the name of suo moto.”

Bilawal further said- They even started fixing the prices of tomatoes and onions. A Chief Justice started the dam project. This will not happen now.” He said that a constitutional bench was created in the 26th amendment, but this time a proper constitutional court is being formed.

Opposition party walked out before voting

At the same time, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, strongly opposed it. PTI MPs staged a walkout before voting and tore copies of the bill and threw them away.

Party spokesperson Zulfiqar Bukhari said, “Parliament destroyed democracy and the judiciary.”

Experts- This is taking the country towards military rule

Legal experts called it an attack on judicial independence. Lawyer Asad Rahim Khan warned that this is the biggest breach in the justice system in almost a century and in the times to come, these same MPs will seek relief from these courts, which they themselves have ruined.

Another lawyer Mirza Moiz Baig termed it as the ‘death knell’ of the independent judiciary and said that the Prime Minister and the President will now choose all the judges including the Chief Justice, which will leave no check on the government.

He said, “Parliament has done what even the earlier dictators could not imagine.” The military has long had a strong influence on politics in Pakistan, but this amendment gives it unlimited powers at the constitutional level for the first time, which will be almost impossible to overturn in the future.

Critics believe that this change is taking the country towards military rule, where Parliament and the judiciary will become mere nominal institutions.

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