ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday that the previous cabinet had not issued to former army chief retired Gen Raheel Sharif any no-objection certificate (NOC) needed for foreign employment without completing a mandatory two-year period after retirement.

However, a three-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar ordered placing the matter before the incoming cabinet for its consideration afresh, saying everything should be done in accordance with the law.

The court had taken up a suo motu case regarding dual nationality of civil servants and judges.

Ex-ISI chief Shuja Pasha in his reply says he is currently unemployed

At the last hearing on Aug 1, the court had asked the defence secretary to furnish the NOC if issued by the federal government to two senior officers of the armed forces — Gen Raheel Sharif and former director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) retired Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha — to join foreign jobs.

The court had then wondered how the top officers of the armed forces, who were once at the helm of affairs and privy to sensitive information related to Pakistan’s security, could accept jobs in other countries without completing the mandatory gap of two years after their retirement.

When the case was taken up on Tuesday, Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan as well as Defence Secretary Lt Gen Zamirul Hassan informed the court that no NOC had ever been issued by the previous cabinet to Mr Sharif before he accepted a few days after his retirement the post of Commander of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition in Saudi Arabia.

The AG explained that the NOC was issued by the federal government under services rules to those government servants who wished to join employment abroad. The court was told that the defence ministry had issued an NOC in favour of Mr Sharif after the General Headquarters (GHQ) cleared him to accept the post of commander of the 41-nation Saudi-led military alliance.

About Mr Pasha, the defence secretary informed the court that the former ISI director general had furnished a reply stating that he was currently unemployed.

The secretary said that a process had been initiated to collect undertakings from all members of the armed forces that they did not possess nationality of any other country except for Pakistan.

The court, however, directed that the matter be placed before the new cabinet afresh for a regular approval and said the authority of the federal government was controlled by the cabinet.

The case would be taken up after the summer vacations as the attorney general sought time to refer the matter to the cabinet for final approval.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2018