“I find it absolutely baffling that in the event that a key slot becomes vacant there is hectic lobbying for the appointment yet once the appointment is made the appointee becomes more powerful than the appointees.”

“Dear Lord, how cryptic can you get!”

“For the uninitiated…”

“Defined as?”

“You want me to define which word. For?The?Or uninitiated?”

“Reminds me of Clinton’s famous words – remember he said it depends on how you define is.”

“OK, the uninitiated are people who have not been initiated into the facts of life.”

“The birds and the bees?”

“Don’t be obtuse, and if you continue in this vein, I will let loose Parveen Rashid of the Middlesex fame on you - as your trainer.”

“No can do, he is busy with Notification Maryam Nawaz (NMN)…speaking of NMN she has been under training for more than a decade now so shouldn’t daddy change the trainer or…or…”

“You don’t give up on your children, and daddy now accompanies NMN when she goes around.”

“And as you and I both know, what goes around comes around.”

“Don’t be facetious, anyway what I began by saying is that there is hectic lobbying for the position of chief of the army staff but once appointed…”

“This is only when the incumbent has given up hope for an extension.”

“True, but the point is that not giving an extension is also a decision made by those who once they make a decision as to who will be the successor they then take a backseat to…”

“Not always – remember some incumbents we are told wanted an extension but quietly went their retirement way once they were informed they ain’t gonna get it.”

“That batch somehow lost their marbles.”

“When? While sipping tea at Kabul airport.”

“Shush.”

“As you said so accurately – what goes around comes around and in the Land of the Pure we play the game where the ball is attached to the racket with an elastic kind of rope, and you throw the ball but it of course then returns to the racket…”

“Isn’t that a child’s game?”

“Yes, but adults can play it too and in the Land of the Pure adults play it assiduously…”

“Oh shush.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024