Islamabad (Web Desk): Amid vigorous protests from the opposition, the National Assembly (NA) on Monday passing six bills, including a significant measure to increase the number of Supreme Court (SC) judges and another concerning the extension of tenure of chiefs.
The first bill, known as the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) (Amendment) Act, 2024, was introduced by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar. He highlighted that the government’s proposal includes raising the total number of judges in the Supreme Court to 34.
“This amendment will increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court up to 34, so that the backlog of cases can be cleared, and that after the 26th amendment, we can have judges to form the constitutional benches,” the minister said.
“Our bar lobbies and the SCBA (Supreme Court Bar Association) have been recommending this for a while now so that the four-bar court registries in Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, and Lahore can relieve their thousands of pending cases. This number has been left open for the judicial commission,” Tarar added.
During the session, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar also introduced the Islamabad High Court Amendment Bill 2024, which aims to expand the number of judges in the High Court from 9 to12.
This initiative is designed to address the increasing demand for judicial resources and enhance the efficiency of Pakistan’s legal system.
The proposed amendment outlines several important changes, including a provision that would allow appeals against decisions made by constitutional benches under Article 184(3) to be heard by a larger constitutional bench within a target period of 30 days, if feasible.
Importantly, this amendment would apply retroactively to cases decided before the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
The Islamabad High Court Amendment Bill 2024 introduces new provisions aimed at improving the efficiency of judicial proceedings.
Among these are Sections 7-A and 7-B, which establish a "first-in, first-out" system for scheduling hearings. This initiative is designed to ensure that cases are heard in the order they are filed, promoting a more organized approach to the court's workload.
Moreover, the amendment requires that all court proceedings in the Supreme Court be officially recorded. These recordings will be accessible to the public upon request, with a nominal fee of Rs50 per page for transcripts.
This measure not only enhances transparency in the judicial process but also allows verified copies of the records to be used for legal purposes, thereby increasing public trust in the system.
The NA also passed amendments to the Pakistan (Army/Air Force/Navy) Act Amendment Bill 2024 to increase the tenures of service chiefs, presented by Defense Minister Khawaja Asif.
“In the said Act, in section 8A, in sub-section (1), for the expression “three (03)” the word “five (05)” shall be substituted,” says the bill. Sub-section 1 of Section 8A states that “the President shall, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appoint a General as the Chief of the Army Staff, for a tenure of three (03) years,” read the bill.
Soon after the law minister tabled the bill in the assembly and finished his speech, voting on the bill was carried out despite the strong protest from opposition benches.
The voting session was significantly disrupted as opposition members vocally protested against the proceedings.
They chanted slogans and surrounded the Speaker's dais, expressing their dissent by tearing up copies of the bill.
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, leading to physical confrontations among some lawmakers as the uproar intensified in the chamber.
Following the National Assembly, the Senate on Monday also approved six crucial bills including the Supreme Court Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2024 as passed by the National Assembly, amid the opposition uproar.
The bills included the Supreme Court Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Earlier, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar moved a motion to suspend the House business and take up the supplementary agenda which was adopted by the House.
The three initial bills related to Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court were piloted by Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar in the House while the remaining three bills pertaining to Army, Navy and Air Force were moved by Minister of Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
The House passed all the bills through clause-by-clause readings.
The Supreme Court Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill, 2024 aimed at increasing number of SC judges to 34 which would help tackle the backlog of cases at the Supreme Court.
Similarly, under the Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the number of judges in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has also been increased from nine to twelve.
Furthermore, the Senate also passed amendments to the Pakistan (Army/Air Force/Navy) Act Amendment Bills 2024 to enhance the tenures of service chiefs.
In the said Act, in section 8A, in sub-section (1), for the expression “three (03)” the word “five (05)” shall be substituted,” says the bill. Sub-section 1 of Section 8A states that “the President shall, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appoint a General as the Chief of the Army Staff, for a tenure of three (03) years,” read the bill.
Similarly, the proposed bill aimed to increase the length of time the service chief can be reappointed or have their tenure extended to five years, instead of three as outlined in Section 8B.
Section 8B of the Army Act reads as follows: “The President, on the advice of the Prime Minister, may reappoint the Chief of the Army Staff for additional tenure of three (03) years, or extend the tenure(s) of the Chief of the Army Staff up to three (03) years, on such terms and conditions, as may be determined by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, in the national security interest or exigencies, from time to time.”
“In the said Act, in section 8B, in sub-section (1)- 10 for the expression “three (03)”, occurring twice, the expression “five (05)” shall be substituted,” the 2024 bill read.
According to the statement of objects and reasons, “The purpose of these amendments is to make consistent the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 … The Pakistan Navy Ordinance, 1961 … and The Pakistan Air Force Act, 1953 … with the maximum tenure of the Chief of the Army Staff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff and to make consequential amendments for uniformity in the aforementioned laws.”
Later, the Presiding Officer prorogued the Senate session sine die after conclusion of the business. The Chair read the prorogation order signed by the President.