After the Supreme Court snub, Pakistan government on Tuesday took back the notification to extend the services of Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended the three-year extension given to Bajwa till Wednesday and said the entire process was "upside down", in a blow to Prime Minister Imran Khan who cited "regional security environment" for his decision to grant the top general another term in office.
Prime Minister Imran Khan presided over a special meeting of the Cabinet on Tuesday to come out of the embarrassing situation due to the court orders.
Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood told media that after the meeting, the cabinet took back the earlier notification and also took measures to address the concerns of the apex court.
He said the cabinet also changed the Pakistan Defence Services Rules and added the word extension as pointed out by the court.
A summary was sent to the president to issue a fresh notification after approval by the Cabinet, he said.
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The court had said that the prime minister was not empowered to grant extension to the army chief as it was the prerogative of the country's president.
Minister for Railway Sheikh Rashid said that all demands of the court were fulfilled by the government.
Rashid also said that law minister Farogh Naseem resigned and he would represent the government and army chief in the case before the Supreme Court.
Naseem resigned on Tuesday to represent the government in the case as he could not argue in the court as the law minister.
The court's decision came just three days ahead of Bajwa's retirement on November 29 as the Chief of the Army Staff in his first stint.
Prime Minister Khan had on August 19 approved an extension in Bajwa's tenure for another three years.
Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa also observed that when the matter was discussed in the Cabinet, only 11 out 25 members approved the extension.
Attorney General Anwar Mansoor contested the observations by the judge, saying that extension was announced after approval of the president.
The petition against Bajwa's extension was filed by a person named Raiz Rahi, who later field an application to withdraw it. However, the chief justice rejected his withdrawal bid and took up the petition as a public interest litigation under Article 184.
The chief justice after suspending the government's notification adjourned the hearing until Wednesday.
It is for the first time that Pakistan's top court suspended a notification by the government to extend the services of the army chief.
Army has not yet commented on the development.
The unprecedented move by the apex court to suspend Prime Minister Khan's decision on August 19 could raise the tension between the judiciary and the powerful Pakistan Army.