ISLAMABAD: Politicians, military officials and business tycoons on Monday night attended the walima reception of Saad Siddiqui Bajwa, son of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, at the Army House.
It was a pleasant surprise for the guests to see politicians, bureaucrats and diplomats present at the reception because previously, army chiefs used to hold family gatherings away from the spotlight.
President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Syed Khursheed Shah, Khwaja Asif, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, Pervez Khattak, Jahangir Khan Tareen, all the four chief ministers and governors, ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Kingdom, United States of America and other friendly countries attended the walima reception held for the newlywed couple – Saad Siddique Bajwa and Mahnoor Sabir.
Senior journalists, including veteran journalist and Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami, were also present. Former army chiefs General (r) Raheel Sharif, General (r) Jehangir Karamat, General (r) Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani, General (r) Waheed Kakar and others were also invited.
However, Sharif family members, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and leaders of other religious parties remained absent.
Interestingly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan were seen conversing happily with each other. This newfound friendship caught many by surprise as both have a history of acrimony after having been involved in making a series of personal attacks against each other in the Senate around four years ago.