“I have developed a healthy disrespect for markets.”
“That sounds such an inane comment. You can disrespect an individual but how in the world do you disrespect a market?”
“A market that allows itself to respond to someone’s comments that have become a tad repetitive reminiscent of Aesop’s cry wolf parable comes to mind.”
“Look at the glass as half full – there have been no talks between the stock market players and finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb so perhaps a tax commensurate to what is being collected in India may be imposed in the budget for next year.”
“And how much is collected under this head here and how much in India?”
“Under 15 billion rupees here while in India it is above 100 billion rupees.”
“Hey we are a much smaller country with a much smaller GDP. A more relevant Aesop parable may be the tortoise and the hare….”
“If you dare to imply we are slow by nature….”
“OK, OK you are just too sensitive, how about the frogs who desired a king.”
“I haven’t heard that one.”
“These frogs in a pond got bored of their freedom and begged Jupiter (king of the gods in ancient times) for a ruler, Jupiter sends a log, and they get bored with that too and ask for an active ruler. He then sends a stork who eats them all up.”
“If you are implying that Shehbaz Sharif is the log…”
“Why in the world do you get so personal. That reminds me did you see Shehbaz Sharif’s speech at the Command and Staff College in Quetta?”
“Yes.”
“What struck you about it?”
“Well the Field Marshall was there and he…”
“Nope not that?”
“At the meeting of the provincial apex committee the two more than life-sized pictures that adorned the left and right side of the wall were that of the Prime Minister and President Zardari and….”
“Nope not that either. I saw the video of the Prime Minister’s address inside the Staff College and what caught my attention was the Defence Minister seated in the middle of the auditorium with not a single army officer around him…..”
“He was dressed in virginal white.”
“Don’t be facetious.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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