Extension verdict.

THE 42-page detailed Supreme Court verdict has provided further clarity in the imbroglio surrounding the extension of the army chief's tenure. Its short order on Nov 28 had granted Gen Qamar Bajwa a six-month extension and directed parliament to enact within that time necessary legislation regulating the terms and conditions of the office of COAS. The judgement announced on Monday holds that failure to comply will mean the incumbent army chief would stand retired from the time his tenure ended in November. Once again, the court expressed incredulity that there exists no provision in the law for extending the army's chief tenure. In his additional note, Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa pointed out that the office of the COAS is 'powerful ... in ways more than one' and that 'unbridled power or position, like unstructured discretion, is dangerous'.

The PTI government and parliament must consider the situation carefully. After all, the outcome will have profound implications, not only for civilian supremacy, but for the military itself. Tenure extensions sanctioned by parliament would acquire a legitimacy that could upend a promotion process that should be marked by transparency and predictability. The Supreme Court has in its verdict sagaciously observed that '...in strengthening institutions, nations prosper'...