“So President Alvi wasn’t feeling his usual self on the day that he was constitutionally mandated to give the oath to Shehbaz Sharif?”

“It’s the Ramadan, you know the routine get disrupted in the best of us.”

“Best of us? Really?”

“When I said best I meant the fittest.”

“Hmmm, Darwin’s theory of evolution was about survival of the fittest so I reckon Alvi will resign as he is clearly not fit.”

“Where’s the logic in that!”

“You want logic: well the fittest of them all is The Khan and he resigned.”

“My sources tell me Alvi has been told not to resign.”

“Why? Because he sold his clinic when he became the president?”

“Don’t be silly, but I guess The Khan had assured him of a job for two terms at least.”

“Now who is being silly? But, you know, I am concerned about Alvi’s health. I mean if his internal mechanism is going to be under stress every time he is required to meet Shehbaz Sharif or any other federal minister then perhaps he should resign. Health is important you know and…”

“The Khan reckons he can act as a spoiler for the government but after the eighteenth amendment a president has no powers.”

“The Khan needs to widen his legal team — Montecito is all very well but…”

“Who appoints the Chief of Army Staff?”

“The President, but it is on the advice of the Prime Minister which I reckon is binding.”

“There goes that theory of mine…anyway the constitution does talk of physical incapacity of the President as grounds for his removal from office and if his … movements…”

“The state will have to prove he is physically or mentally ill.”

“How about an affidavit.”

“Saying what? And who would file it?”

“Saying that Alvi is suffering from a debilitating disease…”

“And if Alvi refutes it?”

“Ishaq Dar writes extremely detailed affidavits so his services can be procured…”

“Oh shush — so you reckon Alvi was not being truthful when he said he was ill.”

“Yep, anyway did you hear Maryam Nawaz cried as she hugged her Uncle after he was elected prime minister.”

“Yes she had to be sedated afterwards - according to the doctor she mumbled something about the fall of the House of the Elder Sharif, the true heirs…”

“Well daddy told her off — his photograph that she displayed around the assembly hall showed him as being chubby and he didn’t like that.”

“Stop creating conflict, there is too, too much of that already.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022