LAHORE: Former army chief retired Gen Raheel Sharif, the head of the Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT), reached here from Saudi Arabia by a special plane on Friday.

According to media reports, some Saudi nationals accompanied Gen Sharif who reportedly left for his residence from Lahore airport’s old terminal while the Saudis moved to a local hotel.

Gen Sharif had left Lahore for Riyadh on April 21 to assume the command of the 41-nation IMAFT after the government quietly cleared him to serve the coalition.

“Gen Raheel Sharif has been issued a no objection certificate to join the IMAFT after GHQ’s consent and meeting legal formalities,” the defence minister had told a TV channel, as a special aircraft sent by the Saudi government had landed in Lahore to take the retired army chief to Riyadh.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2017