“The word that comes to mind is Wile E with respect to the court decision on the date of polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”

“I don’t know how you define wily but it is being interpreted differently by different political parties…”

“Let me clarify, our spelling is different. I was referring to the famous Warner Brother’s cartoon Wile E Coyote who never catches the road runner and yet never ever gives up…”

“Who do you reckon is Wile E then?”

“Not The Khan who enters the public stage like an elephant, I mean you can see him coming from a long way off - first there are thundering statements, then thousands of supporters followed by his entourage and…”

“You reckon Nawaz Sharif is the Wile E Coyote?”

“Nah he is more like the road runner these days so no.”

“So who in the world do you reckon – surely not the institutions?”

“Nope. Let me throw some facts your way and you decide OK?”

“I know the facts.”

“Don’t act like a party leader just listen. First which party has next to zero stakes in Punjab and Khyber Pukhtookhwa elections? The PPP right which had around seven in Punjab in the last elections, and in KPK around 5 so if elections are held in the stipulated time of 90 days who can gain through luring the electables to their side – electables who may be won over by shall we say asset enhancement and…”

“I get it but…”

“Second fact; did or did not the PPP counsel in the case withdraw the full court plea after the bench contracted to five.”

“OK but I thought that was more a reflection of the timidity of the coalition government in taking on the courts which is never a good idea and…”

“True but giving in has not won them any favours has it?”

“No but…”

“Third fact; the government lawyers left the field open and did not raise issues/questions relating to the ongoing census and the delimitation exercise not likely to be completed by April, neither to the lack of finances which are getting scarcer by the day…”

“I would have you know that the data presented to the Assembly that Dar sahib cost the treasury 2.45 million rupees from October to December last year in foreign travel…”

“Irrespective of how wealthy they are, accountants as a general principle spend the clients’ money, and since the client is the state of Pakistan it is the taxpayers…”

“Not fair…”

“That’s the way the cookie crumbles anyway, can you now guess who the Wile E Coyote is?”

“Yes Zardari sahib.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023