National Assembly (NA) of Pakistan on Tuesday has approved the amendment bills regarding extension in the tenure of the services chiefs and chairman of joint chiefs of the staff committee.
Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser chaired the session during which Army Act Amendment Bill, the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill and the Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill 2020 were presented before the assembly. Prime Minister Imran Khan has also attended the all-important assembly session.
Defense Minister Pervez Khattak presented the bills. Defense minister requested the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) legislators to take back their proposed amendments in the bill following the current regional situation.
On behalf of the PPP, Naveed Qamar, said that after being approached by a government delegation and consulting with the rest of the opposition, the party has decided to withdraw them.
Religious parties Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) didn’t participate in the voting process and walked out of the NA declaring it as “fake”. The bills were passed by the lawmakers clause by clause.
After the passage of the bills, Speaker Asad Qaisder adjourned the session of the NA till Wednesday (tomorrow) at 4:00 pm. The bills will be forwarded to the Senate’s Standing Committee on Defence prior to its approval by the Upper House.