ISLAMABAD: The finance ministry recently got an exercise done to see the impact of savings on the mounting pension bill if the service length of military personnel from a soldier to four star general was extended by one, two or three years.
A credible government source said that the exercise has been recently done but its fate is not known. The secretary finance, however, when contacted, categorically denied that any such exercise has ever been done by his ministry.
The source insisted that the file containing the findings of this exercise was with the finance ministry. He added that the impact of extending the length of service for each rank in the military will considerably lessen the burden on the otherwise mounting pension bill.
The source added that as against several other countries, including even the US, the Pak military personnel retire at a younger age. It is said that a soldier, who retires after 15 or 17 years of service, is too young to serve for a few more years. Extension of service for a few years will have a positive impact on the pension bill.
Financially, the source said that this move, if approved, would be of great benefit. The source, however, said that it also has a political aspect for the government as such a decision if taken will also mean extending the service of four star generals including the Army Chief.
Although Army Chief General Raheel Sharif has already made it clear that he would not get any extension in his tenure, still this question continues to be discussed in the media and among politicians.
Early this year, the Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant-General Asim Bajwa rubbished rumours regarding an extension in General Raheel Sharif's tenure as Chief of Army Staff, quoting the Army chief as saying he would "retire on the due date" in November this year.
Bajwa in a series of tweets quoted the Army Chief as saying, "Pakistan Army is a great institution. I don't believe in extension and will retire on the due date." The Army Chief’s statement was widely appreciated.
A few days back an English daily in its on-line addition ran a story suggesting that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed the law ministry to prepare a legal draft to propose amendments in the Pakistan Army Act 1952 in a bid to extend the tenure of four-star generals — proposing a one-year increase from their current three-year terms.
However, later the story was took off from the newspaper’s web page. In different television shows, the government leading minister Ishaq Dar was specifically asked if there is any such amendment under consideration, he denied it and said there is no such thing under consideration of the government.—Originally published in The News