“It’s not easy to let power go.” “Not relevant in the Land of the Pure. Here it is essential to first understand and define whether holding a portfolio has de facto or de jure power.”
“I was thinking of the recent Blinken statement offering the man on whose head CIA has a ten million-dollar bounty, US support subject to challenging conditions – challenging from the perspective of the man’s history, ideology and…”
“It’s Christmas season, lay off one of Santa’s favourite elves.”
“Sorry?”
“Isn’t Blinken one of the elves?”
“It’s not Blinken, it’s Blitzen and between you and me the z makes all the difference.”
“As much difference as the twenty-fourth letter of the Urdu alphabet - ain - did for The Third Wife?”
“Don’t be facetious, anyway when I said it’s not easy to let power go I wasn’t thinking of the US elf…”
“Elf or elve?”
“Elf is the singular of the word elve. And the moral of the story is that the one must be distinct from the many…let me explain the sum is not always equal to the parts.”
“You mean one person with a name that starts with an ain may not have the same effectivity as many people whose names start with an ain.”
“Right anyway, no one cares what the US Elf is saying now; the world is looking at his successor.”
“True and true that we have not had a single prime minister, selected, appointed or elected, who has been happy to let power go.”
“Can you amend that? De facto maybe, will understand when in opposition, but de jure is the name of the game when in power.”
“I get it loud and clear. One question.”
“No, I am not going to generalize as to which office has the de facto or de jure…”
“I am not that stupid. I simply wanted to ask if you would like to go to Murree this weekend because as you know the city received its first snowfall and…”
“Ah, you have to check with Notification Maryam Nawaz (NMN) – after the deaths there during the tenure of an ain entry is subject to a limited number and…”
“She is in China as a state guest and…”
“Don’t be facetious - I didn’t mean her personally, but I would like to suggest to her not to wear the animal fur coat in public – that’s a no no now because it shows animal cruelty and…”
“That reminds me, where is the retired Captain Safdar?”
“How dare you…”
“Sorry the insinuation or disrespect is yours,
not mine.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024