"So Musharraf has agreed to continue wearing two hats?"
"Not technically, all he has said is that the majority of Pakistanis want him to wear the two hats but he will decide by the end of the year."
"And we all wait with bated breath."
"Don't be facetious."
"But it is ironical. I mean a constitutional amendment that requires him to either give up being the President or the chief of army staff is something that is being ignored and the so-called promise that he made to the Maulanas that gave him till the end of the year is something that he will deliberate on."
"Where do you live?"
"One more question: How does he know what the majority of Pakistanis want?"
"You want him to hold another referendum?"
"OK, I give up."
"But you know there was never any doubt that he would ever consider abandoning his uniform, deal or no deal. But I thought he was out of the country. I mean where did he say this?"
"In the land of the free, in the land where democracy was spawned or so Bush and his cohorts the neo-conservatives, would have us believe, and the land where other countries' democratic rights are being squelched as terrorism."
"Ah yes, that too. Let freedom reign."
"Exactly."
"So what else did he say?"
"He said he didn't know where Osama was."
"I know, if we give Osama a uniform and..."
"Don't even go there."
"So Musharraf has reneged on one more promise, this one to Bush."
"Ah yes. What's one more?"
"The promise was to Bush but Bush doesn't need Osama any more, I mean his campaign is doing well again and..."
"But Musharraf should at least have deliberated on it till the end of the year."
"And you, my friend, will be in deep trouble one of these days."
"Talking of promises, I hear Musharraf has promised the Mian family that they can return if..."
"Rubbish. He can't have allowed that."
"You are naïve, you still take seriously our President's promises. Man you are beginning to sound just like the Maulanas."