Amendments to army act to be challenged in Supreme Court: Imran Khan
Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan said on Friday that the incumbent government's planned amendments to the army act would be challenged in the Supreme Court (SC).
In an informal meeting with journalists in Lahore on Friday, the former premier claimed that the government was bringing the amendments for its "own benefit", reports Dawn.
A Dawn report published earlier this week said that the government was considering amending the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952 in a way that would empower the appointing authority — i.e. the prime minister — to retain any candidate through a simple notification, rather than having to go through a complex, constitutional process.
Nawaz Sharif wants to bring an army chief who would weaken the PTI, Imran Khan claimed, alleging that the government was trying to make the armed forces "like the Punjab police".
The PTI chief also said that the appointment of the army chief should take place just like that of the chief justice. According to the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1997, the CJP and all high court judges are appointed on the basis of seniority.