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Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani have neither asked for an extension nor is the government considering such a move, Pakistan's Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said, refuting speculation about a possible extension to them.
Rashid said those involved in such rumour-mongering were not only trying to malign them but also hurting the national interest.
"Both the CJP and the army chief were highly respected for their roles and contribution to the motherland but some elements were trying to drag them into unnecessary controversies.
"Neither of the two has hinted, directly or indirectly, or shown any keenness to get extensions, nor is the government considering any such proposal. But these revered personalities are still being dragged into this controversy," he was quoted as saying by The News daily.
While the Chief Justice is set to retire on December 12, the army chief would demit office on November 28.
Rashid said the army chief was not interested in getting any extension.
"Even in the past, it was the PPP government that compelled him to get the extension," he said, adding that Gen Kayani had never hinted, directly or indirectly, to seek an extension.
Kayani's term as army chief was extended by three years in 2010 by the then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
Rashid said a person recently approached him saying there were reports that the CJP would be given an extension by the government for the period he was put under illegal suspension.
"I asked that person to kindly spare the country's heroes from such controversies," he said, adding that neither has the CJP approached the government for this, nor has the government any such option in mind.
Even otherwise, those talking about the CJP's extension do not know that the retirement age for judges of High Courts and the Supreme Court is set in the Constitution and no executive authority or court could extend it, he said.
"The retirement age of judges can be reduced or increased only through a constitutional amendment," Rashid added.
Speaking about the speculation that started even before the May 11 general election, the report said a few months ago, the army chief while talking to a daily had lamented "how he was maligned by some media commentators on a matter that did not exist, was never discussed and was not even in his mind".
