Under the amendment, Munir will assume the newly created role of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), giving him command over all three armed branches the Army, Navy, and Air Forceas well as control of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons through a newly formed National Strategic Command (NSC). Previously, nuclear oversight rested with the Prime Minister-led National Command Authority (NCA).
The legislation also curtails the judiciary’s powers by transferring all constitutional matters from the Supreme Court to a new Federal Constitutional Court, whose judges will be appointed by the government. Critics argue this undermines judicial independence, with legal experts calling it the most significant erosion of judicial autonomy in decades.
Opposition parties, including Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), condemned the move as “anti-democratic,” staging a walkout and tearing up copies of the bill. PTI spokesperson Zulfiqar Bukhari accused Parliament of “destroying democracy and the judiciary.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif defended the changes, calling them “a step toward national unity” and asserting that the amendments recognize “the role and respect of all armed forces.” PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, meanwhile, hailed the end of the judiciary’s suo motu powers, citing past instances of judicial overreach.
Analysts warn the amendment entrenches military dominance in Pakistan’s political structure, effectively constitutionalizing its power. As one legal expert noted, “Parliament has done what even previous dictators could not make military control permanent.”
