Declare army chief supreme commander, pleas petition

A petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday seeking court orders for the federal government to make the chief of army staff (COAS) as supreme commander of the armed forces replacing the president. Tehreek-e-Inqilab Pakistan Chairman Rana Ilmuddin filed the petition submitting that the army could not take prompt action to stop the US attack in Abbotabad on May 2 because powers to make decisions for any such action vested with President Asif Ali Zardari instead of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. The petitioner made the federation, president, ministries of foreign affairs, defence and interior as respondents.
Ilmuddin said that defence of the country’s borders would not be foolproof until it was in hands of the army with all powers consolidated in the chief of staff for quick and prompt action to respond to any attack on the territory of Pakistan. The petitioner argued that in 1965, former president Field Marshal Ayub Khan was the supreme commander of the armed forces when India imposed war on Pakistan and he took timely decisions and launched a counterattack, which foiled the evil designs of the enemy.
He said that now President Zardari is supreme commander of the armed forces and the army was not fully authorised to take decisions regarding defence of the country. Ilmuddin said that any delay in decision making by the president could harm the solidarity and defence of the borders and the blame for the failure to take timely action will fall on the army instead of the president in case of an attack on Pakistan. He requested the court to accept the petition for a regular hearing.