PARTLY FACETIOUS: Our economic signers have never required anger management courses

“Do we have any anger management classes in this country?”

“I have never heard of such classes, why do you ask?”

“Well many world leaders were slapped recently – some literally and some figuratively and I reckon the slapper as opposed to the slapee if you will may need some…some…management courses.”

“I hope you are excluding Pakistan’s current economic team signers because…”

“Excuse me? Signers?”

“Economic signers – those empowered to sign off on loans on behalf of the 140 million Pakistanis, with harsh upfront conditions.”

“Yes, and that should bring it home to you that it is not relevant whether selections or elections catapult anyone to a position of power, the position once occupied generates the empowerment.”

“Hmmm that’s true but one question: now our rollovers by friendly countries, which required the same-pagers to engage in intense diplomacy, are higher at 16 billion dollars than borrowings from the multilaterals, so the signers have taken aback seat you reckon?”

“Two things. First rollovers require a signature from our side and those who engage in diplomacy do not sign but the designated, selected or elected, signers and second don’t think short term, think long term.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The sum of our foreign loans, courtesy a lot many previous economic team signers, is way more than the rollovers today. I am not sure of the latest figures but I reckon that the total is 120 billion dollars plus.”

“Right, that long term is really long.”

“Yes, and our economic signers have never required anger management courses, and do you know why?”

“Because the technocrats selected never tear up a page.”

“Right, they just pray that the page turners would one day come back to the same page for a review.”

“Good strategy, perhaps that is a lesson to be learned by the politicians as well.”

“Not likely, see when they don’t just tear up the page, they throw away the book.”

“The Man Who Must Remain Nameless and Faceless has been in jail more than two years and still hasn’t learned……”

“Indeed, maybe he can take the anger management class that President Trump is reportedly organizing for Greta Thunberg whose aid ship for Gaza was seized by the Israelis…”

“Life is hard for the underdog where you are.”

“Profound indeed.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025