“If you support survival of the fittest theory who do you reckon is the fittest in this Land of the Pure?”

“All monotheistic religions have rejected Darwin’s evolution theory and as you know survival of the fittest is a component…”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake – you Khanzadehs have become so narrow minded from being so liberal before – I mean we are not referring to The Khan’s Deputy Prime Minister Asad Umer as representative of survival of the fittest while Jehangir Tareen, the man who ensured the evolution of the party from out of government into government…”

“Good point, so in the Land of the Pure we can talk of survival of the fittest while dismissing the evolution theory?”

“Indeed, as Zartaj Gul says the Khanzadehs hurl logic at their adversaries and sometimes the shape logic takes can be a book, a sanitizer bottle…”

“Don’t be facetious, anyway Gul’s leader The Khan is a master of throwing a cricket ball at his adversaries – which is hard, very hard, and if thrown at speed can kill…”

“The Khanzadehs didn’t have balls in the assembly so they threw books which are not as lethal as a cricket ball but…”

“Indeed, but the joint opposition, minus The Niece, is trying to create space for itself…”

“Fiscal space?”

“Where did that come in?”

“Well, fiscal space for the country means trying to balance the budget by raising taxes or cutting down expenditure and all governments including the incumbent have opted to raise revenue, eat your heart out you members of the public, instead of containing their own expenditure…”

“The Khan doesn’t take foreign tours, OK, there is the matter of the pandemic, but he also doesn’t offer food…”

“Didn’t he give food to all parliamentarians before the vote of confidence he sought…”

“Oh shush…anyway fiscal space for government parliamentarians and members of the opposition implies allowing them to keep what they have and…”

“As in an NRO?”

“Where is Zulfi Bukhari – I mean he went from being the favourite to the disappeared in a minute.”

“Disappeared within or out of the country?”

“Don’t be facetious.”

“Out means creating fiscal space for the individual inside is an entire different kettle of fish.”

“We are Pakistanis and the concept of kettle of fish doesn’t arise here.”

“There you go but the man who has survived against all odds is no politician or finance minister but the Chairman Accountability Bureau who remains in his seat in spite of acknowledging being compromised because of some tapes…”

“Agreed.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021