Islamabad: In a major development in Pakistan, Islamabad on Saturday amended the constitution to give more power to Army Chief General Asim Munir. With this amendment, Pakistan created a new post of Chief of Defence Staff.

The new amendment will help in ensuring better coordination and unified command between the three commands of the armed forces. The 27th Constitutional Amendment bill , which was presented before Pakistan’s Parliament, proposed changes in Article 243 of the Constitution.

What are the amendments?

Under the fresh amendment, Pakistan President will appoint Chief of Defence Staff and the army chief with the advice of the Prime Minister. While the army chief will also be the chief of defence staff, he will also appoint the National Strategic Command following consultations with the PM . Also, the head of the National Strategic Command will be appointed from the Pakistani Army.

Apart from these, the government will also promote officers to the field marshal ranks, Admiral of the Navy as well as Marshal of Pakistan Air Force. Th privileges will remain for life and will not be changed following recognitions. According to reports, the move has been taken following Pakistan’s recent conflict with India. The changed nature of modern warfare also led to changes in the amendment in the Constitution.

What prompted fresh changes?

It may be noted that following the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed, India launched Operation Sindoor against nine terrorist locations. The strikes led to four days conflict between India and Pakistan till May 10.

Last month, the Indian Air Force chief A P Singh maintained that at least a dozen of Pakistani military aircraft were destroyed during the conflict, which included F-16 aircraft, manufactured by the United States. Munir was appointed Field Marshal soon after the conflict, making him the second person in the country to be promoted to such a position.