PAKISTAN's parliament on Thursday approved a constitutional amendment granting lifetime immunity to the president and the current army chief. Critics said the move weakens democratic checks and judicial oversight.
The 27th amendment, passed with a two-thirds majority, also creates a new Chief of Defence Forces role and sets up a Federal Constitutional Court.
The changes give army chief Asim Munir — who was promoted to field marshal after Pakistan’s clash with India in May — command over the army, air force and navy. Munir and other senior officers will have lifelong protections.
Under the amendment, any officer elevated to field marshal, marshal of the air force or admiral of the fleet will keep their rank and privileges for life, remain in uniform and have immunity from criminal proceedings. Such protections previously applied only to the head of state.
“This constitutional amendment will increase authoritarianism and whatever little semblance of democracy existed in this country will fade away,” said Osama Malik, an Islamabad-based lawyer.
“It will not only remove civilian oversight from the military's activities, it will also completely destroy the military hierarchy where all service chiefs were considered equal under the joint chief system,” he told AFP.
The amendment also gives President Asif Ali Zardari protection from criminal prosecution, though that immunity will not apply if he or any former president later holds another public office. Zardari has faced several graft cases, and proceedings were earlier stayed. He signed the bill into law after the parliamentary vote.
Opposition parties led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tore up copies of the bill in both houses this week.
The amendment bars courts from questioning any constitutional change “on any ground whatsoever”. It also establishes a Federal Constitutional Court with exclusive authority over constitutional cases, removing the Supreme Court’s original powers and taking over pending petitions.
Another clause allows the president to transfer High Court judges on the Judicial Commission’s recommendation, a change critics say could sideline dissenting judges.
“This is the final nail in the coffin of an independent judiciary and a functioning democracy,” PTI spokesman Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari told AFP.
PTI secretary general Salman Akram Raja said the amendment is “deeply undemocratic at its core”.
“They have given lifetime immunity from criminal prosecution to the president and created a system that concentrates power in one military office,” he told AFP.
The Senate first passed the bill on Monday. The National Assembly approved a revised version on Wednesday, and the upper house gave its final approval on Thursday.
“Sixty-four members are in favour of the passage of the bill and four members are against, so the motion is carried,” Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani said.
The bill also passed the 336-member National Assembly with the required two-thirds majority.
(With inputs from agencies)
