1982 - Being recieved at the HQ 14FF in Abbottabad as Colonel Commandant.

Did you know your grandfather Mr Chief Justice?

I knew mine rather well for a man with 21 grandchildren. His name was Nasir Ahmed Chaudhry.

He lived to be 90-years-old and was a retired Major-General. He was killed on May 28, 2010 in the attack on the Model Town Ahmadi “place of worship” – first wounded by a grenade and then shot repeatedly by a terrorist. These are the facts; you can read them in any number of newspaper articles.

Let me tell you what the papers don’t know.

My nana used to pick me up from kindergarten while I lived in Lahore.

He would buy me chhalli every single day, even if he had to drive for forty minutes searching for a corn vendor.

He liked pizza.

He limped because he had a bullet in his leg from a war he fought to keep you and me safe.

He taught me how to play chess.

He used to reward his grandchildren whenever they got an ‘A.’

Every time I saw him, he would ask me about my three promises. These were promises he would try to extract from me – usually things like, say my prayers and read the Holy Quran. He tried to get me to promise to always be home before sunset, but that one didn’t work out too well. Every time I told him I was keeping one or more of the promises with regularity, he would switch them around. It was his way of making me a better person.

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