National Assembly Passes Amendments to Defence Forces and National Command Authority Laws Amid Opposition Walkout

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Thursday passed two key bills seeking amendments to the Defence Forces Act, 2010 and the National Command Authority Act, 2010, amid an opposition walkout from the House.

The bills were moved by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. Opposition lawmakers protested that the legislation had been brought without prior consultation and walked out of the session.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also raised objections, saying his party had not been consulted before the bills were presented in the National Assembly.

The bills were not part of the original agenda of the National Assembly session. However, the federal cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier in the day, approved the proposed amendments.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, amendments to the Defence Forces Act seek to provide a legal framework for matters relating to the Chief of Defence Forces and the Chief of Defence Forces Headquarters.

Amendments to the National Command Authority Act have been proposed following the 27th Constitutional Amendment and are aimed at aligning the law with the new defence command structure.

The 27th Constitutional Amendment abolished the post of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and created the position of Chief of Defence Forces, which is concurrently held by the Chief of Army Staff. Field Marshal Asim Munir became the country’s first Chief of Defence Forces. The amendment also created the new position of Commander of the National Strategic Command.

During the proceedings, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq expressed displeasure over the absence of ministers and parliamentary secretaries from the House and suspended the proceedings for 15 minutes.

The Speaker summoned the Secretary of the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination and other relevant officials and warned that a privilege motion could be moved against the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and the concerned official if ministers and senior officials continued to remain absent from parliamentary proceedings.