Army chief’s extension PM’s prerogative, says Aitzaz Ahsan

ISLAMABAD: Prominent lawyer and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) stalwart Barrister Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan talking to the media outside the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday said that the prime minister of Pakistan has the prerogative to extend COAS Gen Bajwa’s tenure.

Aitzaz Ahsan said the Supreme Court of Pakistan held no jurisdiction over the prime minister’s decision as to whose tenure he wants to extend and whosoever he wishes to appoint next. He said if the president has acted upon the advice relayed to him by the prime minister, then from a law and order perspective there was nothing wrong in it.

The lawyer further said that by asking questions about which cabinet members approved the extension and which disapproved of it was irrelevant. He maintained that the apex court held no right to raise objections to the extension.

“This is a principle of parliamentary sovereignty,” argued Aitzaz Ahsan. “The court cannot intervene in it. The Supreme Court is a respectful institution but the principle of parliamentary sovereignty is also supreme,” he went on.

Regardless of whether Prime Minister Imran Khan made the right decision orthe wrong one, it is not the right of the judge or anyone else to intervene, he said. He added that under Article 48 of the Constitution, the court should also not comment on how many people voted or did not vote in a cabinet meeting. One can challenge the extension on the basis of qualification but the prime minister not the court has the right to make that decision.