Energy News
THE STANS
Pakistan grants lifetime immunity to president, current army chief

Pakistan grants lifetime immunity to president, current army chief

By Zain Zaman Janjua
Islamabad, Pakistan (AFP) Nov 13, 2025

Pakistan's parliament approved a sweeping constitutional amendment on Thursday granting lifetime immunity to the president as well as the current army chief, a move critics warned would erode democratic checks and judicial independence.

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

The changes grant army chief Asim Munir, promoted to field marshal after Pakistan's clash with India in May, command over the army, air force and the navy.

He and other top military brass will enjoy lifelong protections.

Under the amendment, any officer promoted to field marshal, marshal of the air force, or admiral of the fleet will now retain rank and privileges for life, remain in uniform, and enjoy immunity from criminal proceedings.

Such protections were previously only reserved 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 chief system," he told AFP.

Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of more than 250 million people, has long struggled to balance civilian authority with the military's role in politics.

The amendment also shields President Asif Ali Zardari from any criminal prosecution, although that immunity will not apply if he or any other former president later holds another public office.

Zardari has faced multiple graft cases, although proceedings were previously stayed.

He signed the bill into law following the parliamentary vote.

- 'Deeply undemocratic' -

Opposition parties, led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), tore up copies of the bill in both chambers over the past few days.

The amendment also bars courts from questioning any constitutional change "on any ground whatsoever".

The bill also creates a Federal Constitutional Court with exclusive jurisdiction over constitutional cases, stripping the Supreme Court of its original powers and transferring pending petitions.

Another clause empowers the president to transfer High Court judges on the recommendation of the Judicial Commission, a change critics say could be used to 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 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 Senate initially passed the bill on Monday. It was then tweaked and passed by the National Assembly, the lower house, two days later before returning 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," Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday.

It also cleared the 336-member lower house with the required two-thirds majority.

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
THE STANS
Germany deported Uyghur to China in bureaucratic bungle
Frankfurt, Germany (AFP) Nov 10, 2025
Germany deported a Uyghur woman back to China rather than to Turkey after a bureaucratic mix-up, government sources said Monday, with critics slamming a "huge blunder" that endangered her life. The woman, Reziwanguli Baikeli, was only in Beijing for a short time after her deportation last week, and managed to quickly leave again for Turkey, news magazine Der Spiegel reported. But the fact she was sent to China - despite an immigration order to deport her to Turkey, where she had lived previousl ... read more

THE STANS
CSES satellite tracks shifting South Atlantic anomaly and impact on solar cycle twenty five

S&P Global finalizes deal for ORBCOMM satellite vessel tracking network

Brazil gears up to harness ESA's Biomass data

Wits expands earth science with new observatory and CORES center

THE STANS
Centimeter-level RTK positioning now available for IoT deployments

PntGuard delivers maritime resilience against navigation signal interference

Next-generation visual navigation startup Vermeer secures major funding milestone

GMV technology links global habitats in record-breaking space analog mission

THE STANS
In Kyrgyzstan, world's largest natural walnut forest thins away

Sweden sees silent forests as sanctuaries from a noisy world

Ethiopia's invasive prosopis tree chokes livelihoods and land

Amazonian forests altered by human actions show broad changes in diversity and evolutionary patterns

THE STANS
Methane conversion enabled by iron catalyst delivers pharmaceutical compounds

Illinois team creates aviation fuel from food waste with circular economy benefits

Industrial microbe enables conversion of carbon monoxide to ethanol

Revolutionary microbe enables resilient renewable energy from food waste

THE STANS
At COP30, senator warns US 'deliberately losing' clean tech race with China

Floating solar panels show promise, but environmental impacts vary

Blade-coating advances promise uniform perovskite solar films at industrial scale

Energy sandwich could power next-generation solar and lighting

THE STANS
S.Africa seeks to save birds from wind turbine risks

Vertical wind turbines may soon power UK railways using tunnel airflow

Danish wind giant Orsted to cut workforce by a quarter

French-German duo wins mega offshore wind energy project

THE STANS
Fight over fossil fuels drawdown looms at UN climate summit

South Korea pledges to phase out coal plants at COP30

Earth cannot 'sustain' intensive fossil fuel use, Lula tells COP30

China's power paradox: record renewables, continued coal

THE STANS
China's 'Singles Day' shopping fest loses its shine for weary consumers

Daughter of 'underground' pastor urges China for his release

Unruffled by Trump, Chinese parents chase 'American dream' for kids

China dreams of football glory at last... in gaming

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.