PARTLY FACETIOUS: Showcasing achievements

"The Prime Minister during a cabinet meeting reportedly told his economic team leader to defend their economic policies in the media....why are you laughing - it's a perfectly legitimate instruction and..."

"Guess what will happen! He will hold a press conference flanked by three or four federal ministers who will vociferously defend his policies as they are not economists... actually there are no other masters or Phds in economics in The Khan's cabinet..."

"In economics there is his way or the highway - what I am trying to say is that while economic objectives of administrations may be the same the path varies as there are multiple theories and...."

"Right and I reckon we are on a service lane right now!"

"Don't be facetious. Anyway get ready for a press conference in the near future - they will present the very same narrative as they always do - a narrative that is contrary to some ground realities and if there are some awkward questions he refers them to either one of the ministers flanking him or blames it on the boogie."

"Boogie?"

"The boogie is change - do you know how many personnel have been changed since 20 April 2019 when he replaced Asad Umer - I am referring to changes in finance secretaries, changes in the chairmen of the federal board of revenue, changes in the personnel of those entities that come under the administrative control of the finance ministry...."

"Hey that makes him Wasim Akram Plus - I mean the number of personnel changes may well rival if not surpass the number of changes in the Punjab Secretariat..."

"That is good no? Change is the mantra of the Khan administration...though there is one change made by the Prime Minister that reversed - taking away revenue division from him. Anyway the guy he is attacking now, as subtly as we all know he is capable of, is Asad Umer - first he complained that the figures, especially inflation, compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, a department that comes under Umer have no credibility..."

"But he was careful to say it only after Razzak Dawood had already said it, and on Thursday he took it one step further to state that economic data must be provided in a timely manner..."

"Is he from the Jehangir Tareen camp?"

"Don't be facetious - he is in a camp that is on the same page as...."

"Stop right there my friend."

"What? All I was going to say is he has always been on the same page as the chief executive of the country who appoints him - take the Musharraf government, then the Zardari government and now the Khan administration..."

"That is as it should be: loyalty to the head of government."

"I stand corrected."

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020