“Balochistan has given a vote of confidence to Nawaz Sharif.” “Hmmmm.” “No sarcasm, please.” “But…” “Read my lips, no sarcasm. It’s the way the cookie crumbles in this country.”

“It’s not crumbling in this instance, just the reverse. I mean it’s not akin to Humpty Dumpty who could not be put together again…”

“Don’t quote just what suits you, quote the rest of the nursery rhyme. It goes on to say all the King’s men and the King’s horses couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again once he fell and you and I both know that is not applicable in this instance.”

“Granted but what I can’t understand is why did the Baloch leaders opt to join the Nawala brigade – why not just stay in your party which would give them a better bargaining position for choice ministries etc. etc. etc…”

“Well Nawaz Sharif wanted them in because if they win on his ticket then they can’t dump him mid-way during his fourth tenure, Balochistan has 16 national assembly seats (total 20) after all…

“And don’t forget 14 Senate seats with some retiring in the first quarter of next year. These seats are used by a party leader/prime minister as something to bestow on those who follow his as opposed to anyone else’s instructions…”

“Isn’t this in the realm of making the same mistake again and again…”

“I will ignore that comment. Nawaz Sharif just like the other two national party leaders likes the role of Bestower of Senate seats with one proviso: act like the puppet on a string…”

“Though who is actually pulling the string…”

“Shut up silly. But you do know that even if all 20 seats are delivered to Nawaz Sharif from Balochistan and they can’t leave mid-way as you say due to a constitutional provision yet the Balochistan assembly can be dissolved and if I recall correctly last time…”

“Be positive, the glass is half full right now.”

“Indeed it is but Nawaz Sharif needs to accept that the Baloch leaders act as foreign portfolio investors! They come in droves and are gone before you can even blink.”

“Nawaz Sharif doesn’t blink, now Notification Maryam Nawaz (NMN) was blinking all the time daddy was in Balochistan and I wonder…”

“That’s cause the retired captain was with her.”

“I haven’t seen the captain with her since…since the fall of the government of The Man Who Must remain Nameless.”

“I reckon daddy insisted he accompany them - perhaps he doesn’t want her to change her status as he may feel it may impact on her future political prospects.”

“Perhaps.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023