Post-retirement benefits to ex-army chief serving in Saudi alliance questioned

PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar has asked if all army chiefs had obtained similar benefit on their retirement that were granted to the ex-COAS General Raheel Sharif (retired) such as land allotment. Gen Raheel is currently serving as the commander of the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition.

The outspoken Pakistan People’s Party senator sought to know under which law, allotment of 88 acres of precious land to Mr Sharif as a ‘post-retirement benefit’ was made, He said his repeated questions on the issue had remained unanswered.
Speaking on an issue of public importance, he said that on Wednesday the National Accountability Bureau had arrested a senior civil servant in Lahore on the charge of being involved in illegal land transfers.
A day earlier NAB reopened a corruption reference against some retired army generals in a land transfer case that had remained dormant for over a decade, he said.
Earlier, NAB had taken action against some officials of the Sindh government on similar grounds.
Mr Babar said that a former army chief was allotted 88 acres of land but the questions asked about the legality of it were never answered except for a terse statement that it had been done in accordance with the Constitution.
However, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani did not allow any further discussion on the issue and told Mr Babar that he might raise the issue through a question in the lower house.