“So history repeats itself.” “What prompted that comment?” “Nawaz Sharif has sent his emissaries to the same smallish parties who had formed a coalition in 2018 with The Man Who Must Remain Nameless.”

“These parties witnessed a significant decline in support during the recent elections in Sindh…”

“Hey there are two kinds of support in this country – support of P versus D.”

“Let me guess – P stands for the Public, the voters, and D stands for Deliverers and needless to add only those parties who do not have support from D talk of P support.”

“Right, so you are presupposing the resurrection of the MQM and the GDA and…”

“There is one major difference between 2018 and the preparations for the 2024 elections: Nawaz Sharif is traipsing off to Quetta to seek Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) support to get the numbers needed to form the federal government.”

“Why does he need to go to Quetta for that! I mean the twin cities have the...”

“Shush my friend.”

“Two BAP representatives are here - Kakar sahib is here, his Interior Minister is also here, besides its kinda cold in Quetta now and perhaps Nawaz Sharif has forgotten that there is no residence in Quetta which meets the standards of luxury he is used to for the past four years.”

“In Avenfield?!”

“Of course in Avenfield. Anyway moving on what is relevant is that unlike other countries where history may repeat itself every two to three decades, in the Land of the Pure history repeats itself every three to maximum four years.”

“Ahhhh, we are quick learners and…”

“We don’t learn from our past we just repeat it.”

“That is a contradictory statement isn’t it. You said The Man Who Must Remain Nameless never went traipsing around the country to get the numbers to form the government – remember Tareen and his plane - while Nawaz Sharif is doing it…”

“Does that mean D support for Nawaz Sharif is a tad less than D support for The Man Who Must Remain Nameless in 2018?”

“Maybe but there is a major, I mean a major difference that you have not focused on at all: The Man Wo Must Remain Nameless in 2018 had no, I repeat on baggage. Nawaz Sharif is convicted, left the country from jail, and remained outside the country for reportedly medical reasons even though he was seen traipsing all over Europe and the Middle East …”

“Hmmm, so the D support is comparable you reckon?”

“I sure do.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023