Pakistan grants lifetime immunity to president, Army chief

Pakistan’s parliament on Thursday approved a sweeping constitutional amendment granting lifetime immunity to the country’s president and current army chief, a move critics say undermines democratic checks and judicial independence, AFP reports.

The 27th amendment, passed by a two-thirds majority, also consolidates military authority under a new Chief of Defence Forces role and establishes a Federal Constitutional Court.

The legislation grants army chief Asim Munir, recently promoted to field marshal following clashes with India in May, command over the army, air force, and navy.

Under the amendment, any officer promoted to field marshal, marshal of the air force, or admiral of the fleet will retain rank and privileges for life, remain in uniform, and enjoy immunity from criminal proceedings—a protection previously reserved only for 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 Chiefs system,” he told AFP.

The amendment also shields President Asif Ali Zardari from criminal prosecution, although the immunity does not apply if he or any other former president later holds public office. Zardari has faced multiple graft cases, though proceedings had been previously stayed.

Opposition parties, led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, strongly opposed the amendment, tearing up copies of the bill in both chambers in protest.

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 described the amendment as “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 bill also bars courts from questioning any constitutional change “on any ground whatsoever” and transfers pending constitutional cases to the newly created Federal Constitutional Court, stripping the Supreme Court of original jurisdiction.

Another provision allows the president to transfer High Court judges on the recommendation of the Judicial Commission, a change critics warn could be used to sideline dissenting judges.

The Senate initially passed the bill on Monday, and after minor revisions, the National Assembly approved it two days later before returning it to the upper house for final approval.

“Sixty-four members are in favour of the passage of the bill and four members are against, so the motion is carried,” said Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani, AFP reports. The lower house also cleared the bill with the required two-thirds majority.

The bill now heads to Zardari to be signed into law.