“I don’t understand. Why did Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif take Khwaja Asif with him and not the Information Minister Atta Tarar?”
“Perhaps because as the minister of defence, and need I add defence is leading our foreign policy these days – I mean….”
“The people of this country including me know what you mean but my questions stands because the guy has a portfolio but no agenda – that lies elsewhere.”
“Where? The Interior Ministry?”
“Not quite but then you are challenging the Foreign Minister who need I add has accompanied the Prime Minister and that leads me to ask the same question. Dar sahib is getting much greater coverage than the Prime Minister and that means he isn’t relying on Tarar…”
“I know why Khwaja Asif went to New York and not Tarar sahib.”
“Because the American immigration has banned all entrants into their country with that particular kind of beard sported by Muslim countries.”
“The Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa has the same beard and he got in and…”
”He earned the right of passage shall we say and he also attended the Gulf countries meeting with President Trump which our Foreign Minister or indeed the Prime Minister was not invited to.”
“Why not?”
“Last I checked we are not a Gulf country.|”
“Neither is Turkiye but anyway our Foreign Minister has forged visa free agreement for Pakistanis with Saudi Arabia so learn to appreciate the guy.”
“It’s not for you and me; only for Pakistani blue passport holders and I would urge him to try to work for Pakistanis rather than just our elite and….”
“Learn your place in life or shall I say come to terms with it.”
“OK. Anyway your response as to why he left Tarar behind and took Khwaja Asif instead was facetious to say the least. The actual reason was that it was in the national interest …”
“Excuse me?”
“National interest because the powers that be are currently talking to the party of the Man Who Must Remain Nameless, Voiceless and Faceless to get them to call off the strike and Khwaja Asif as you know is much more abrasive and has the capacity to anger the party much more relative to Tarar so….”
“Hmmm that does make sense.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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