“Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, analysts would rank individual Soviets in terms of their power and influence by how far away or near they stood to the Leader in official photographs and I think those who stood to the right were higher in succession than those who stood on the left…”

“You can’t apply the same rule here in the Land of the Pure.”

“Why not?”

“Because unlike the Soviets, we have kingship here.”

“The Man Who Must Remain Nameless…”

“He is the exception, and time will tell who will succeed once he is out of the picture.”

“Right one could have PTI- Pakistan right? Like what happened to MQM.”

“Don’t know, don’t care, anyway The Samdhi Dar stands…”

“Don’t jump the gun. First, let’s decide on the…the location of the real Leader. At Raiwind? Or the Prime Minister’s House? Or the Presidency?”

“I reckon the location changes from one issue to the next.”

“Excuse me! Issue?”

“OK let me give you an example, the RaiwindSamdhi wants a daily update on what’s happening in Islamabad…why are you laughing?”

“I see the RaiwindSamdhi attending functions with Notification Maryam Nawaz (NMN) on the assumption that his presence would increase her popularity but with a 70 seat win, and that too with a little bit of help…”

“Right, maybe he is giving her on the job the training.”

“I see Parveen Rashid tagging along NMN…”

“Keyboard my friend, get your keyboard fixed pronto as for his loyal service a senatorship is…”

“Correct, but his job description is not likely to change.”

“Right, but the RaiwindSamdhi’s counterpart the Dependent Samdhi has been stationed at Islamabad to provide a minute by minute update on what is happening in Islamabad and…”

“Right, which explains the portfolio of Foreign Minister and many, many, chairs.”

“Right, but I would advise him to be careful – every time he pulls up a chair to sit, it may be pulled away.”

“Reminds me of Humpty Dumpty.”

“The likeness is now in body and soul, my friend.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024