THIS is with reference to the report that the Supreme Court has sought record of the permission given to retired Generals Raheel Sharif and Shuja Pasha for accepting jobs abroad within days of retirement.

A perusal of the questions asked, replies given and the verbatim discussion in parliament (particularly in Senate) at the time may provide an answer not only to how permission was given to Raheel Sharif to take up foreign job but also to the allotment of 90 acres of prime land to him as post-retirement benefit.

Nothing may come out of the exercise, but new light will be shed on this verse:

Khudawanda ye teray saada dil banday kidhar jaaen
Ke darweshi be ayyari hai, sultani bhi ayyariO God, who Thy simple folk turn to;For both the king and the dervish are hypocrites

Senator (r) Farhatullah Babar
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2018