"The worms are emerging from the woodwork."
"Well heavy rains can do that."
"I was talking metaphorically."
"OKaaaaay!!"
"Those politicians who had gone underground have re-emerged and are pontificating..."
"I saw appallingly poor attendance in the assembly and this is in spite of the fact that the Prime Minister was there as was his successor Dar and I say successor because the rumour is if Mian sahib goes the Zardari route his prime minister would be Dar."
"Don't be facetious, Mian sahib would never go the Zardari route and become president."
"Would he follow the Turkish model?"
"AH yes that is doable. Going back to assembly attendees the second or maybe third tier members of the assembly have the floor now - the Ahsan Iqbals and the Mushahid Hussains".
"Mushahid Hussain was a first tier leader - always next to the elder inarticulate Chaudhary."
"Nah he was always second tier - our royal families do not allow any non-family member to enter the first tier."
"Not unless a relationship is forged through perhaps marriage!"
"Even then - if you think Dar has the same status as a Sharif then you are mistaken my friend. But anyway I finally heard Mushahid Hussain - and it was literally as if he came out of the woodwork after weeks of silence. I mean here he was advising his former boss, an advice that he did not have the courage to give when he was Disinformation Minister under Nawaz Sharif, and need I remind everyone that he was visibly present in the storming of the Supreme Court and was a Musharraf factotum and...."
"But he never turned approver like Dar."
"No and that is because he never knew where the money was going or indeed how much was there."
"But you know the Chaudharys must be upset at him - I mean when the Chaudharys began their pro-Qadri/Khan policy Mushahid simply disappeared."
"Why don't you look at the glass as half full instead of half empty?"
"What?"
"Why don't you see Mushahid developing an independent opinion rather than toeing the party line?"
"See he is enough of a realist to know that the Q league would be gone in the next elections so no Senate seat and..."
"But he could lose the Senate seat if the Chaudharys..."
"Yes but if Zardari sahib can allow Babar Awan to stay on as senator, then I do not see the Chaudharys taking away the seat they conferred on Mushahid. I mean an effort is required to do so."
"So you reckon laziness trumps revenge?"
"Don't be facetious."