Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned why top generals had gone abroad for employment despite a law barring government officials from taking up jobs for two years after their retirement.
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned why top generals had gone abroad for employment despite a law barring government officials from taking up jobs for two years after their retirement.
Hearing a suo moto case on the dual nationalities of government employees, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar observed that former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha and former army chief Gen Raheel Sharif had found employment abroad within the two-year period.
“According to the law, government officers cannot sign an employment contract abroad for two years after their retirement. Generals Pasha and Sharif both found employment abroad. Is the law not applicable to army officers?” Nisar asked.
The defence secretary, Lt Gen (retired) Zamir-ul-Hassan Shah, informed the court that both retired officers had obtained a no-objection certificate (NOC) prior to leaving Pakistan for employment.
The chief justice observed it is to be seen how this permission was granted. “We will see how the permission was granted, and what is its nature and duration. These individuals should have obtained the cabinet’s permission (before their departure),” he said.
In a related development, the Supreme Judicial Council on Wednesday issued a third show cause notice to Islamabad high court’s Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui for alleged misconduct. The incident quoted in the notice was Siddiqui’s speech at the Rawalpindi District Bar Association directed against the ISI.
Acting on an application from the ISI, the council has sought a response from Siddiqui by August 28 regarding the speech. The judge had accused the ISI of manipulating judicial proceedings and the constitution of benches.
