Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday granted a six-month conditional extension to Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, in a landmark case that shook the high echelons of power in a country that has been ruled for decades by the powerful military.

Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who headed a three-member Bench comprising Justices Mazhar Alam Khan and Mansoor Ali Shah, announced the verdict after being assured by the government that parliament will pass legislation on the extension/reappointment of an army chief within six months.

Khan had extended Bajwa’s tenure through a notification on August 19, but the apex court suspended it on Tuesday, citing irregularities in the manner the army chief, a close confidant of the prime minister, was granted an extension.

“That this did not happen must be of special disappointment to our external enemies & mafias within,” Khan said, without identifying them.

“The current appointment of General Qamar Javed Bajwa as COAS shall be subject to the said legislation and shall continue for a period of six months from today, whereafter the new legislation shall determine his tenure and other terms and conditions of service,” the Bench said in its short order.

A much-relieved Prime Minister Imran Khan lauded the apex court after the ruling even as he took a jibe at the country’s “external enemies” and the “mafias within”, saying the verdict must be of “special disappointment” to them.

Delivering the verdict, Chief Justice Khosa directed the government to bring necessary legislation within six months.Justice Khosa said that the court observed “judicial restraint” and left the matter to the parliament.“We have reviewed several laws, including Army Act 1952 and Rule 1954, before announcing the judgment,” he said.