“So there goes another premise for installing caretakers.” “Well the intense lobbying by the how shall I put…” “Technocrats or those who refer to themselves as technocrats?”

“Ha ha indeed, anyway I see what you mean. These so-called caretaker technocrats are required to take decisions based on economic considerations rather than political considerations, unlike their more legitimate elected counterparts…”

“One correction: technocrats are installed as federal ministers not only during caretaker set ups but also during the set ups of elected governments. And…and …wait a match between the technocrat’s subject of expertise and the portfolio conferred on him is not always present…”

“You thinking of The Samdhi? Anyway he is in London, this time he paid for his ticket, and his objective: to lay the blame on everyone but himself for the disaster that he caused to our economy……”

“But to be fair The Samdhi was the only reason for the International Monetary Fund’s refusal to reach a staff level agreement and Shahbaz Sharif had to bypass him to reach an agreement which specifies that electricity rates must be revised upward...”

“But The Samdhi was taking the country towards default which would have been much more burdensome for the householder!”

“That’s true anyway Dar is Nawaz Sharif’s Usman Buzdar – if I recall correctly Sharif’s late spouse felt indebted to Dar and…”

“The Third Wife never feel indebted to Buzdar. IT was the reverse.”

“Well that’s the difference between the two one is a spiritual guide the other is not”.

“Don’t be facetious, I hear the other more personable women in the life of the Man Who Must Not Be Named, his ex-wife and his sisters, have begun to take a prominent position in his defense which is angering the Third Wife…”

“I don’t know about that, anyway going back to the caretakers, they are now having to respond to widespread anger at the electricity bills and are being forced to look at providing some relief…”

“I get your thesis: if you install anyone in a certain position - technocrat or non-technocrat, a selected or an elected party, a party leader who listens or one who doesn’t – they not only cost the same per head per month, they also respond to social unrest the same way, they hog the national airwaves the same as those who come to power through general elections, they use the state media the same way as…”

“Indeed, but the selectors of the caretakers…”

“Whosoever’s input was taken to select any caretaker the point is that this entire exercise must be abandoned. I mean we have a bunch of good educated people who first do a push and shove to get the position, then they proceed to ensure they get all the benefits of the portfolio and in the event of a crisis they make the same grandiose claims notably that they will not take any decision that is against national interest…”

“National interest, to my mind, is defined in the most self-centered…”

“What about a national conference dedicated to defining national interest…”

“You are so naive – it will be same o same o.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023