PARTLY FACETIOUS: Dr Hafeez Sheikh dominates…

“What’s with Hafeez Sheikh?”

“Whatever do you mean? The guy is the finance minister for the second time - in a different administration….”

“Aren’t there more of the same – I mean second time finance ministers? Except PML-N, a party that selected Ishaq Dar again and again…”

“Twice…no wait three times he also served in the Zardari led government for less than 50 days…”

“Well Anne Boleyn was Queen for less than a 1000 days and look what happened to her.”

“She was beheaded by her husband who had moved to other pastures but hey the bond between Nawaz Sharif and Dar is unbreakable and this is in spite of the affidavit he signed revealing all.”

“Right but don’t forget the fault lies with Sartaj Aziz, a qualified economist, who reportedly wanted Foreign Affairs which left the position of finance minister vacant for Dar ….”

“And as Nawaz Sharif never ever acknowledges he has ever made a mistake and that includes his selections….”

‘’Oye Nawaz Sharif did the shuffling much more than The Khan – I mean The Khan goes around praising his 50 plus selections and keeps giving them warnings to buckle up or else face dismissal but two and a half years later the number of dismissals are no more than a handful and…”

“Right but coming back to Hafeez Sheikh I can’t understand why he couldn’t convince the Prime Minister and his 49 other team members that it doesn’t matter if the government issues a sukuk in favour of F-9 park in Islamabad or the Islamabad club – I mean given that he got the Prime Minister to go on and on about the current account surplus and all…”

“I read somewhere that the army chief denied at the Islamabad club this weekend and…”

“Say what you will but the page is the same my friend….”

“I guess being a finance minister is all about optics; besides Hafeez Sheikh chooses his battles carefully – all he wants is to be allowed to borrow more to try to meet the shortfall in revenue and as long as he gets approval for doing so it doesn’t matter to him what is put up for auction....hey Dar was a great one for issuing sukuks too…..”

“How dare you compare Dar with Sheikh? Dar is an absconder, an accountant without any economic degree and…”

“If PML-N forms the next government and Maryam Nawaz inherits the party, then Miftah Ismail eat your heart out!”

“And if Shahbaz Sharif…..”

“Irrespective of what political pundits are saying I reckon the battle has not yet been enjoined – recall the phrase the King is dead long live the King or queen or…”

“Or princess or…”

“Shush.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021