“Why the change of heart?”
“There is a change of heart globally – the Emiratis and the Saudis…”
“I get it, your reference is to Yemen, and there are reports that the leader of the Southern Transitional Council has landed in…”
“Hey, please stick to what concerns us – I mean we have enough issues…”
“OK so the US rhetoric of an attack on Iran is becoming more and more likely and if oil prices rise as a consequence…”
“That’s not a change of heart, right!”
“OK so I project that the Europeans will hand over Greenland without a single sabre-rattling and…”
“Sabres went out of war arsenals a long time ago; we have ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles…”
“But it would be nice if those long bygone days returned. I mean, President Trump could throw the gauntlet to the Danish Prime Minister and…”
“If you are the head of government, then I am sure constitution after constitution would stipulate that the head of government can select another to fight on his behalf…”
“So perhaps President Trump’s Ares, the Greek god of war…”
“I was wondering; who would Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif select as his replacement…?”
“Technically it must be his deputy.”
“Not his Interior Minister?”
“No, not him, I mean the deputy enjoys more air time than he does, even if the two men are attending the same function and…”
“That’s not his decision, it’s Atta Tarar’s…”
“Nah, it is way above his pay grade. Anyway the change of heart I was referring to is the Sindh government’s deployment of, how can I put it, obstructionist actions against the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) scheduled jalsa at the father of the nation’s mausoleum or ground or road or whatever…”
“I do not think it was the PML-N or the establishment but the PPP that decided to withdraw the protocol and the reason was remarks made by CM KPK against his HH (head host).”
“Ah, that was not appropriate: to denigrate their party leader Zardari sahib in Sindh.”
“Yes – he could have criticized him on his return to KPK.”
“But the crowds that came to greet him…”
“Indeed I won’t query that, but a host is due some respect and if you cannot extend that respect then at least do not bad mouth him when you are in his house, especially when he has laid the red carpet out for you.”
“Crowds can be heady, but one must not lose sight of diplomacy.”
“The world of diplomacy is dead globally – look at the conflicts and…”
“Agreed.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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