Karim Zaid broke the family protocol and spoke first. ‘Sir, we won’t utter a word. And thank you for accommodating our request. We are truly grateful.’

‘Good,’ replied Faheem and stood up. ‘You can come back next week and collect the letter. Based on that, she can arrive in Pakistan on compassionate grounds. She will be issued visa on arrival. Ask her to carry the letter that the ministry will issue soon.’

‘Thank you so much, Sir!’ Karim Zaid said. ‘We are so grateful!’

They were about to leave when the PA spoke again. ‘By the way, what business are you in?’

Qasim replied, ‘Sir, we trade in sugar.’

Faheem reacted instantly. ‘Oh great. I have a marriage function coming up in the family. Please send two to three bags of sugar to my house. Here’s the address.’

Qasim nodded, accepted the business card and exited the room. As they walked along the long corridor, they saw a hoard of visitors waiting to meet the PA. Each one carried a small bag that they held close to their chests, the contents of which were now known to the brothers.

As soon as they left, Faheem pulled out the plastic bag from the drawer and hurriedly removed 50,000 rupees from it. He placed the remaining two lakh rupees in a briefcase, locked the drawer and headed towards the minister’s room.

‘May I come in, Sir?’ Mushtaq looked up, saw the briefcase and gestured him to carry on with what seemed to be a standard procedure. Faheem opened the minister’s leather briefcase and placed the bundles neatly in it and said, ‘Janab, could you please call the home ministry? I will then follow up and ensure their mother is received here without any bottlenecks.’

‘Okay,’ said Mushtaq and picked up the receiver. ‘Connect me to the secretary of the home department.’

A few minutes later, sitting in his office, Faheem was giving the passport details of Bibi Amrit Kaur to the home department officials and justifying the urgency.

A week later, Qasim Zaid was asked to come and collect the travel documents. Holding the approval letter in his hands, he kissed it many times and thanked Faheem profusely. Back in his car, he looked at the packet and said in a sad tone, ‘Oh my Allah, I wonder what they will do with so much loot? Aren’t they scared of you? Aren’t they worried that they will have to be answerable to you for all this?’