PARTLY FACETIOUS: ‘How many Chinese jets will it take for Russia to down 100 Rafales?’
“Why are you laughing? I know the cricket team is back, where the entire Blue Area is shut down…”
“For your information, it’s a smart shut down — smart because people like you have to abandon all hope of entering the Blue Area in Islamabad…”
“But why did the Chairman, Pakistan Cricket Board abandon the alternate hotel? I mean…”
“I was told security was compromised there.”
“How many teams stayed there before…”
“Well for your information there are army personnel deployed in the Blue Area because for the record the police was awaiting the return of the Interior Minister who went to commiserate with the families of the martyred…”
“Didn’t the political leadership…”
“He is the political leadership anyway, that’s no laughing matter.”
“Agreed, and that’s not why I was laughing. The French President said that the French people want out…”
“Hey, a term is a term is a term. For him, it ends in 2027.”
“Right so he is giving 100 Rafales to Ukraine.”
“But Ukraine has no money and Belgium refuses to allow the, how can I put it, appropriation of Russian 140 billion Euro sovereign fund stashed there and neither does France – I mean their deficit is…”
“One question: how many Chinese jets will it take for Russia to down 100 Rafales?”
“Ask India.”
“It is funny, isn’t it. Maybe the French President reckons that the Rafales would perform better in Europe. I mean, in the Sub-Continent they were not…how can I put it….not quite effective.”
“I have an idea? Why doesn’t India sell their Rafales to Ukraine?”
“Ukraine has no money.”
“What about the 100 million-dollar worth of corruption that was recently unearthed.”
“The accused has run off.”
“With his gold toilet? I heard he had purchased a gold toilet…”
“Gold colour is much prized in many countries, including ours…”
“But to make a bid for the gold toilet, you need to have dollars, and we don’t have dollars.”
“As a country, we don’t, but there are many dollar rich…”
“Gotcha.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025