Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir’s tenure will be restarted after he takes charge as Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), according to a bill presented in the National Assembly on Thursday.
Speaking on the floor of the house after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif presented the bill to amend the Army Act, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that the CDF’s term would be five years from the date of his appointment.
He made the remarks during the NA session that passed the bills amending the Army, Navy, and Air Force Acts after the cabinet’s endorsement.
The bill mentions that the Chief of the Army Staff, concurrently the Chief of the Defence Forces under Article 243 of the Constitution, “the tenure under this section shall commence from the date of notification of the said office”.
The amendment means that once the notification of the first appointment of the Chief of the Army Staff and the Chief of the Defence Forces is issued, the existing tenure of the incumbent COAS shall be deemed to have recommenced from the date of such notification.
Moreover, the government will determine the duties, functions, and responsibilities of the COAS and CDF, including but not limited to his functions and responsibilities regarding multi-domain integration, necessary restructuring, and optimum jointness of the Armed Forces.
On the recommendation of the army chief/CDF, the prime minister would appoint the National Strategic Command (NSC) Commander, who could be reappointed for a term of three years.
In line with the proposed changes, the army chief will have the authority to appoint a Vice Chief of Army Staff or Deputy Chief of Army Staff.
The post of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee will be abolished from November 27, the proposed Army Act stated.
This is a developing story and is being updated with further details
