LAHORE: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Monday said that granting extensions in tenure of services’ chiefs would weaken democratic institutions.
In a statement, the bar council stated that “it is dismayed at the manner in which extensions in tenures of the army, navy and air force chiefs of staff are being provided through acts of parliament, without addressing the basic issue regarding the necessity and desirability of extending service chiefs’ terms in office”.
“Giving extensions to incumbents in any institution creates the perception of ‘indispensability’ and weakens institutions. Personally-specific legislative and policy measures go against the spirit of representative democracy. Transitions are important for institution building and creating viable institutions,” the statement read.
“Our history is replete with examples of the damage done by extensions in terms of powerful office-holders. In the third term of a democratic cycle, the mistakes of the past should not be repeated. The doctrine of necessity used to justify and legitimize extraordinary measures should have no place in a democratic dispensation,” it added.
We are also disappointed with the political parties’ response. Instead of rushing into a discussion on the procedure for extending the army service chief’s tenure, they should have called for a debate on the need for, and legitimacy of, any extension. We expect the political parties that pledged to uphold civilian supremacy – and who used this promise to gain electoral support – to honour their commitment in the face of this challenge.
“The PBC calls on all democratic organisations to endorse its stance in the greater national interest. The AGHS (Asma Jahangir) Legal Aid Cell and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, Haqooq-e-Khalq Movement (comprising student and trade unions) endorse this statement,” it concluded.
