"Our defence is impregnable President Musharraf never tires of telling us."
"And his Chosen One never tires of parroting the same thought."
"And why should we not have an impregnable defence capability! I mean considering we spend a very large portion of our annual budget on achieving precisely this objective."
"Exactly, and now no foreign power can take us on."
Well, there are a few exceptions if you know what I mean."
"Is that a wise crack against our army?"
"No, but you must understand we are not a super power."
"So which countries are the exceptions?"
"The US for one..."
"OK, no problems there."
"Then there is Russia, most Western European countries, and of course there is China and then..."
"What drivel are you talking about? Why in the world would these countries attack us!"
"So, essentially, our defence is India centric."
"Well, I guess yes."
"So what was this that Musharraf told us after Bush left Islamabad? That we must not be India-centric?"
"He didn't expect you to take it that literally. In any case what is your point?"
"My point is that India is winning the war against us. On the economic front there is now no comparison, on the diplomatic front as well, and the proof can be seen in our vehement denials of any involvement in all terrorist blasts on Indian soil, we are losing the battle in developing our indigenous military hardware (somehow imports seems to be favoured by our rulers), and we are losing the battle in terms of the sheer size of their army and."
"There is the nuclear deterrent."
"Yes there is that but then why are we buying the F-16s and the other very expensive equipment?"
"I don't really know."
"And then don't forget India is also winning the war against us in the hearts and minds of the West through its adherence to the principles of democracy."
"Ah yes."
"So I believe the threat is no longer external to us but internal."
"So how do we deal with it?"
"Stop spending so much on defence and start spending on social infrastructure. We can still beat everyone in the arena of economics - in real terms and not in imaginary terms of which the Chosen One is a master."
"Not likely. Did you know ARD has moved the NA on the deteriorating law and order situation in the country?"
"As they should but it won't come to anything - no scandal has been taken seriously by this government."