ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar on Tuesday warned President Arif Alvi against politicising the appointment of the next army chief.
A day earlier, President Alvi had said on a TV show that he would approve the appointment of the next chief of army staff (COAS) in line with the procedure laid out in the Constitution. He said that in the past too, the opposition was consulted on the appointment of the army chief.
Reacting to his statement, Tarar said: “The president doesn’t have any role under the Constitution of Pakistan in the appointment of the army chief.”
The minister said that President Alvi is politicising the matter to fulfil interests that are contrary to the president’s role as per the constitution.
Tarar clarified that appointing the army chief is the prerogative of the prime minister.
The minister was responding to the statements made by the president while speaking to a private news channel.
In his talk, President Alvi pointed out that a discussion with the then-opposition, now the government, was held when PTI chief Imran Khan extended the three-year term of General Qamar Javed Bajwa in 2019.
In 2019, he said, the National Assembly approved a law to extend General Bajwa’s terms after questions were raised by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Alvi has been constantly backing the idea of grand dialogue between the political parties, as he believes issues can be resolved through dialogue.
