to Saudi Arabia. In 1990, he held state dinner for United States Central Command (SCENTCOM) commander General Norman Schwarzkopf where, together with Chairman Joint Chiefs Admiral Iftikhar Sirohey, brief the USCENTCOM on Pakistan Armed Forces battle preparations and military operational capabilities of Pakistan armed forces in Saudi contingent. The Iraq war with Kuwait was a polarizing political issue in Pakistan and Beg carefully commanded and deployed the Pakistan Armed Forces' contingent forces during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Beg calculated that the popular opinion would be in favor of Iraq, as the anti-American sentiment in the Middle East began to grow at that time. But, neither did Beg's strategic prediction come true nor did he get an extension. Soon after the end of Gulf war, Beg proceeded towards his retirement on 18 August 1991. Post-military career After failing to persuade the government for his extension, Beg's later political ambitions forced then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan to nominate General Asif Nawaz as the designated chief of army staff three months prior to his retirement. After Beg's retirement he continued the professorship at National Defence University in Islamabad, and remained active in country's political and military affairs. Funding of conservative politicians Soon after retiring from his military service in 1991, Beg earned the public criticism when the Pakistan Peoples Party's politicians went on aired on several news channels of being charged on personally authorizing the intelligence funds to be released to the conservative politicians. A lawsuit was filed by Asghar Khan at the Supreme Court of Pakistan against him, the former Director ISI Asad Durrani, and Younis Habib, the accountant with the Ministry of Defence in 1992, and official court inquiries began when the local Pakistani newspaper, alleging that the conservatives had received as much as ₨. 140 million to win over the "for-sale" leftists politicians. In 1994, the official government investigations pursued further when Interior minister Naseerullah Babar in Benazir administration disclosed this matter at the Parliament while maintaining that "it was the ISI that had disbursed funds to purchase the loyalty of conservative mass and nationalist public figures to manipulate the general elections held in 1990 and to bring the conservatives in race to compete with left-wing politicians in the country." It was reported that Gen. Beg had the Younis Habib released and deposited around ₨. 140 million in the Survey Section 202 account of Military Intelligence (MI), with ₨. 6