PARTLY FACETIOUS: Imran following in the footsteps of Erdogan?

"Do as Erdogan says and not as Erdogan does."

"Excuse me?"

"The Khan is following what Erdogan says - I remember his Third Wife's first and last interview to a television channel where she stated that the world leader she respects the most is Erdogan and as The Khan has declared that he listens to her advice...."

"Which husband does not listen to his wife, I ask you."

"Indeed Turkey recognized Israel in 1949 however while Erdogan threatened to suspend diplomatic ties with United Arab Emirates for recognizing the state of Israel yet he has not deemed it appropriate to downgrade Turkey's diplomatic relations with Israel...."

"That's not hypocrisy my friend that is having your cake and eating it too. Anyway The Khan says Pakistan will not recognize Israel and so he is following what Erdogan says rather than what he does."

"But you know The Khan decided not to participate in the summit organized by the other leader that The Khan has publicly stated he respects greatly notably Mahathir Muhammad in December 2019 - a summit that was to discuss the state of crisis in the Muslim world and formulate workable solutions and..."

"In February this year Mahathir was ousted from power as the Alliance of Hope cobbled by Mahathir disintegrated - all from within rather than without..."

"Excuse me but that ain't happening in this country - The Khan is very popular and his anti-graft speeches...."

"Mahathir also made anti-graft speeches and his predecessor is in jail for 12 years as is Nawaz Sharif.....oh sorry Nawaz Sharif is not in jail because his name was taken out of the exit control list by the government...."

"don't be facetious. The Khan has a minority government because without coalition partners he would not be able to form a government in the Centre and less so in the Punjab just like Mahathir's Alliance of Hope...."

"Oh shush - anyway The Khan has learned a valuable lesson - that in international relations it's not about morality and a principled stand but about what the creditor nations dictate."

"Hey the current account surplus and the 13 billion dollar foreign exchange reserves...."

"Are sourced to borrowing from friendly countries and swap arrangements, I would reckon at least two third of the 13 billion dollars...."

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020