“So how come Pakistan is the interlocutor?”
“Because we have civilian and military leadership that is capable and….”
“So Like JD Vance hunh? Not like Witkoff and Kushner.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Powell, the UK official, is on record as having stated that during negotiations with Iran in Geneva Witkoff/Kushner team appeared to be Israeli assets while JD Vance was insisting that Trump was getting a one-sided view of how the war was progressing and that was the Israeli view.”
“Right I get it, but my theory is that Pakistan was the preferred interlocutor because as the nature of war has changed – drones and ballistic missiles as opposed to over whelming air power – the need for an interlocutor with the necessary how shall I put it arsenal became acute. I mean the previous preferred interlocutors had no military capability — Qatar or Norway…”
“Oman?”
“Also weak militarily.”
“You mean no nukes?”
“Given that nukes are a deterrent for other like-armed countries…”
“Gotcha but then shouldn’t we give a vote of thanks to those who ensured that we had nuclear capability.”
“Shahbaz Sharif would unhesitatingly give a vote of thanks to his brother for approving the nuclear tests in Chaghi on 30 May 1998….”
“It was checkmate India right! I mean in Pokhran May 11 to 13 1998 India carried out tests.”
“Well I am not going to thank India for…”
“I wasn’t aiming for that. What I meant was that the tests would not have been possible unless work had been ongoing for years.”
“Z A Bhutto is the one who launched the programme, who got the necessary funding and….”
“There you go.”
“Can we also thank Nawaz Sharif?”
“Yeah but then perhaps you would need to thank Karamatcause he was the army chief at that time, and I am sure his concurrence….”
“OK that is not acceptable to the Prime Minister, so how about thanking the civilian and military leadership – and as you and I both know our leadership is at the top of the pyramid, there is no….”
“Our leadership kept good relations with all warring parties….”
“Indeed and the warring parties have already thanked them. And you just shut up.”
“Aye, aye.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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