“So what’s your beef these days?” “I am a mutton person, healthier than beef.”

“Dear Lord, what’s your beef is a proverb which means what occupies you these days? More particularly what’s your complaint? Last we chatted you were complaining about inflation and…”

“Nah I am tired of complaining about inflation, it began very high a few years ago and continues to this day and if The Samdhi is conferred the Ministry of Finance again things aren’t going to get any better.”

“Better? With him I reckon things would deteriorate but anyway my beef these days is not to belabour the obvious but to seek an answer to what is not that obvious.”

“OK so the obvious is that Nawaz Sharif will be the next prime minister and he will reappoint The Samdhi…”

“Nawaz Sharif is Plan A, though I am not sure The Samdhi is a sub-clause of Plan A.”

“Right and Plan A can change into Plan B or even C…”

“Or even F at a moment’s notice but as you know and I know Nawaz Sharif is a seasoned politician unlikely to ripple the waters…”

“He is seasoned but he has a tendency to make the same mistake again and again.”

“Ah but that is always after the implementation of Plan A never before.”

“That’s certainly true, anyway who will be the next prime minister is moot at present, what is not a moot point is who will be the Punjab Chief Minister?”

“The post that has more contenders than the prime minister’s slot!”

“Right and there are prospective candidates from all Punjab-based political parties. Notification Maryam Nawaz (NMN)…”

“Nawaz Sharif may have his pet peeves, and NMN and The Samdhi are certainly more of a pet peeve than Brother Shehbaz but I reckon his Plan A will be to ensure her win in a particular constituency as part of his Plan A and then adjust her in the federal cabinet as…as…well if The Samdhi is getting finance then the next important portfolio is interior.”

“Indeed, let the Opposers beware – opposers who include The Man Who Must Remain Nameless to Chaudhary Nisar to Shahid Khaqan Abbassi to…”

“I reckon Nawaz Sharif’s Plan A may clash with Plan A of the establishment.”

“Perhaps, but the Punjab Chief Minister can’t possibly be from the IPP as the IPP stands for Insipid Power Players…”

“Hey that would depend on whose Plan A…”

“Right in the Land of The Pure anything is possible.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023