PARTLY FACETIOUS: Shehbaz did not expand his cabinet without prior approval?

“The Brown Pope’s disappearance mirrors that of the Pope.”

“The Pope was very ill, sepsis or so it was reported, and this week he left hospital on a wheelchair and the media showed him waving to the crowds. The Brown Pope, so I heard, is also ill, and for quite a while – I mean I haven’t seen him walking rather loosely as he does in jeans since mid-February, though he does tweet quite regularly…… why are you laughing?”

“They say if you spend a lot of your time with anyone, you are likely to take on their habits.”

“And that is funny?”

“Well, the Brown Pope spent a lot of his time with the PML-N leadership and I ask you what does he have in common with Shehbaz Sharif and Notification Maryam Nawaz (NMN)?”

“The two Sharifs are related by blood, but the Brown Pope isn’t.”

“Apart from that?”

“The two blood relatives are political animals, while the Brown Pope is more like a chuckwalla lizard, a loner in the midst of the 40 plus cabinet.”

“Hey, the cabinet has been doubled after he kinda disappeared. But when I referred to taking on the habits of someone you spend time with, I was actually referring to all three using X (formerly twitter) even though X is banned in this country.”

“Hmmm I do agree, the Brown Pope is tweeting on all matters relating to interior ministry and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).”

“You reckon he is not ill but angry because of the induction of Talal Chaudhary and Pervez Khattak in the cabinet and…”

“Don’t think so, Shehbaz Sharif did not expand his cabinet without, how shall I put it, prior approval.”

“Right, so what do you reckon? The Brown Pope is really ill or has decided to withdraw from the scene so that the power that be realizes his valuable….”

“Stop right there. You know that an interior minister’s jurisdiction is limited to Islamabad, as law and order is a provincial subject. You also know that terror attacks are dealt with by the establishment.”

“What about the PCB?”

“Well, the cricket team has been doing particularly badly.”

“Yes, but with New Zealand we won one game out of five. I can unhesitatingly say that if the Brown Pope is removed from the chairmanship of PCB, Pakistan team would have lost five matches out of five.”

“You being facetious?”

“No, you have to give credit where due.”

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