Pakistan is on tenterhooks regarding the issuance of the notification appointing FM Asim Munir as the Chief of Defense Forces (CDF), a position apparently created by amending Article 243, the relevant portion of which is: Amendment of Article 243 of the Constitution.
In the Constitution, in Article 243,-
(a) for clause (4), the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“(4) The President shall, on advice of the Prime Minister, appoint-
(a) The Chief of the Army Staff concurrently serves as the Chief of the Defense Forces;
(b) the Chief of the Naval Staff; and
(c) the Chief of the Air Staff; and shall also determine their salaries and allowances.”; and
(b) after clause (4), amended as aforesaid, the following new clauses (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10) and (11) shall be inserted, namely:-
“(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (4), the office of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee shall stand abolished with effect from the twenty-seventh day of November two thousand and twenty-five.
(6) The Prime Minister shall, on the recommendation of the Chief of the Army Staff concurrently the Chief of the Defense Forces, appoint the Commander of the National Strategic Command from the members of Pakistan Army and shall also determine his salaries and allowances.
(7) Where the Federal Government promotes a member of the Armed Forces to the rank of Field Marshal, Marshal of the Air Force, or Admiral of the Fleet, such officer shall retain the rank, privileges, and remain in uniform for life.
(8) Field Marshal, Marshal of the Air Force, and Admiral of the Fleet, being national heroes, shall not be removed from office except on the grounds or charges and in the manner provided under Article 47.
(9) The provisions of Article 248, as applicable to the President, shall mutatis mutandis apply to Field Marshal, Marshal of the Air Force, and Admiral of the Fleet.
(10) Upon completion of the term of his command, under the law, the Federal Government shall determine the responsibilities and duties of Field Marshal, Marshal of the Air Force, or Admiral of the Fleet in the interest of the State.
(11) The President shall, on advice of the Prime Minister, determine the salaries, allowances, and privileges of Field Marshal, Marshal of the Air Force, and Admiral of the Fleet.
As is obvious, amended 243 (4a) stipulating “the Chief of the Army Staff concurrently the Chief of the Defense Forces;” and 243 (6) stipulating “The Prime Minister shall, on the recommendation of the Chief of the Army Staff concurrently the Chief of the Defense Forces, appoint the Commander of the National Strategic Command…” are the only two instances that refer to the office of the CDF. On both occasions, the absence of any punctuation, such as a comma or semicolon, after the words COAS and before the words concurrently, by the CDF creates the impression of a grammatical error, implying the CDF is a pre-existing office.
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In reality, however, it is a brand new office being hereby created in passing and in stark contrast to the standards applied to more than a dozen other constitutional offices throughout the Constitution such as the office of the President, Prime Minister, & Chief Ministers, Federal and Provincial Ministers, Governors, Speakers & Deputy Speakers, Chairman & Deputy Chairman Senate, Justices & Chief Justices of Supreme & High Courts, Auditor General, Attorney General, COAS, CAF, CNS, CJCSC), each of which has an explicit enabling article creating the office, a defined tenure or age limit, a specific removal/impeachment process and a dedicated oath in the Third Schedule.
CDF is the only major constitutional office introduced in the last 50 years that has none of these safeguards or formalities. It is simply a concurrent title grafted onto the COAS with one sub-clause and no elaboration. Even the old (abolished) CJCSC, despite being statutory, had clearer tenure rules (3 years) and conventions than the new CDF now has constitutionally.
Consequently, the popular narrative that the CDF is a functional command post and that the three service chiefs (all of whom are regular four-star officers) have now been subordinated to the CDF is ultra vires the constitution, inconsistent with global practice to the extent that no country in the world has a regular five-star position; a rank rarely awarded for extraordinary victories in the history of nations. It is thus imperative for the Government to issue the requisite notification, appointing Field Marshal Asim Munir as the CDF, specifying his tenure and the scope of his authority and responsibilities.
One reason for the delay in the issuance of CDF notification could thus be the dilemma of framing CDF rules after having abolished the CJCSC post and replacing it with a unique five star general CDF post for needlessly redefining, the otherwise seamless inter-service relationship during future military conflicts, which have been incentivised by the 27th amendment through unprecedented life time privileges including prosecutorial indemnity awarded to 5 star generals.
This is precisely why many constitutional lawyers and retired three/four-star officers call the 27th Amendment’s military clauses “half-baked” or “stealth” amendments, as they achieve an enormous concentration of power while pretending to be mere housekeeping.
Mr Zubair Gilani is a writer, a former banker & entrepreneur, and a political activist, who has also served as Chairman Board of Investment in Pakistan. He can be reached at zubairhaidergilani@gmail.com.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the position or editorial policy of the publication.