He was fond of the good life, the now former CJ was. And, like all teenagers, he also had a thing for cars. His motorcade was no less than that of the president or the prime minister.
When he used to go on visits, he used to insist on nothing but the best of cars to be reserved for him. Once, on an official visit to Lahore, the provincial government could not send him the car that he had wanted; the then President Musharraf was also in town and the vehicle in question was to be sent his way. Well, our man was furious. Not only did he complain to CM Pervez Elahi but he also took the poor protocol officer to task and asked him why he shouldn’t be summoned in court!
Well, he is feeling the blues these days since that razzle-dazzle is now gone. Now, under the rules, a former CJ is allowed a security detail of three-plus-one. Oliver Twist has asked the government for more. The Sharifs, however, are famous for being kind to their benefactors. Lord knows what they have planned for His Lordship.
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Speaking of protocol and pomp, former President Zardari left the presidency as soon as his term was up. Not much of a protocol man himself, he didn’t hold on to anything. But his hangers-on, now that’s another story.
The Presidential secretariat has been contacting them time and time again to return their vehicles, all but to no avail.
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The former army chief was a bit of a recluse. This one isn’t. He threw an open house, of sorts, in Lahore for friends and family. Ah, to bask all of that adulation in must be a good feeling.
The job might be tough and there’s a war to be fought. And components of one’s own army that might need to be brought in line. But all the fawning over would more than make up for it.
It’s good to be king.