Pak Opposition To Protest Against Amendment That Gives Asim Munir Key Role

Opposition parties in Pakistan have announced nationwide protests from Sunday to demonstrate against the government's move to pass the 27th Constitutional Amendment. The amendment proposes changes in Article 243 and recasts the military's command hierarchy.

One of the proposals in the amendment includes the abolishment of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) and introduce a new designation, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF). It paves the way for current army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir to become the first CDF. 

This proposal (regarding the promotion of Munir) came after India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructures in territories controlled by Pakistan. The operation by New Delhi was a retaliation to the Pahalgam attack in April.

READ: Pak Amends Constitution, Gives Asim Munir Key Role After Op Sindoor Drubbing

Other proposals (in the amendment) include the establishment of a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) and revisions to the process of appointing high court judges. The amendment also aims to reduce the powers of the Pakistan Supreme Court.

The Opposition Protests

The Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), an alliance of opposition parties led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), announced nationwide protests against the 27th Constitutional Amendment, a report by the news agency PTI said.

Slamming the government's move, the TTAP said that the amendment would shake the foundations of the Constitution.

Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, chief of the TTAP member Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), said in a statement, "Democratic institutions have been paralysed within Pakistan... the nation must step up against the (proposed) 27th Amendment."

Another alliance member, the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party's (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, said the slogan of the protests would be "Long live democracy, down with dictatorship."

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Achakzai said that the demonstrations would call for the release of political prisoners.

He added that the opposition alliance had no choice but to protest against the government's move to pass the amendment.

Mixed Reviews Over Government's Move

The report by news agency PTI, citing Pakistani media, reported that legal experts in Pakistan have been divided over the government's move to pass the amendment.

Some experts believe that the proposed changes in Article 243 would, in effect, dethrone the Supreme Court as the country's highest judicial reform, ceding that position to the FCC.

But proponents of the amendment said that the FCC would modernise the judiciary, reduce backlogs, and separate constitutional and appellate jurisdictions - a reform they argue will improve efficiency and clarity in the justice system.

Meanwhile, speaking to the Dawn newspaper, former Pakistan defence secretary Lieutenant General Asif Yasin Malik (Retd) said that "by placing an army officer (in this case Field Marshal Asim Munir) as the CDF with authority over the air force and navy, the proposed system invites institutional imbalance and potential disaster."

"This amendment appears tailored to benefit a specific individual rather than to strengthen the defence structure," Malik added.

(With inputs from agencies)