“There is no lame duck in the Land of the Pure, you reckon but the Man Who Shall Remain Nameless is…” “Down but not out. Back to the drawing board with him and…wait…Zaka Ashraf’s entry has been delayed perhaps indefinitely because of a court….”
“Drawing board as in back to the world’s oldest profession?”
“Stop we don’t refer to that profession in the Land of the Pure.”
“I was referring to the profession of propagandists, spin doctors, you know as well as I, that ancient Romans spun many a web successfully in their rather diverse and massive empires.”
“That’s true, there was no electronic or print media at the time but town criers did not always shout beware the ides of March if you know what I mean.”
“Hmmm, anyway so Zaka Ashraf ain’t gonna take over till the dissolution of the remaining assemblies I reckon. But anyway when I talked of lame duck I was referring to the gathering of the Decision Makers in Dubai…”
“Since Nawaz Sharif has travelled the longest to reach Dubai you reckon he is closest to being a lame duck?”
“Zardari sahib is ill and perhaps he couldn’t risk a trip to the UK at this time…”
“So it’s a matter of degree – Zardari sahib is more ill than Nawaz Sharif but where does the lame duck come in?”
“You know these plans in foreign capitals are the outcome of the Proliferation of Audios…”
“I am not sure that is the only reason. Let’s put it this way: after the passage of the law limiting disqualification to five years Nawaz Sharif can become our prime minister but he will have to run the country from jail…”
“Ah I get it anyway so who is the lame duck?”
“Where is our prime Minister? Is he in Dubai?”
“I am not sure.”
“Where is the Samdhi in the Prime Minister’s cabinet.”
“Passing a budget that is even more ridiculous than the 9 June one, tax target raised which was already unachievable, reliance on indirect taxes raised, including petroleum levy…”
“Right but as long as the fuel in the Prime Minister’s plane will be at the tax payer’s expense…”
“Where does that come in?”
“The Samdhi travels only on the Prime Minister’s plane – be it going to exile or returning…”
“Ha ha, Khanzadehs eat your heart out! No Travelling via Afghanistan or Iran…”
“Indeed.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023