"I get so confused, it's damned if I do and damned if I don't."
"That's the nature of the beast."
"What? You are referring to me as a beast? I take exception, strong exception..."
"Hey I am not referring to you as a horse, a much maligned animal in this country especially during election time, I think a horse is one of the most graceful animals with strength that is so understated...."
"I wonder where the term horse trading comes from? Is it local parlance like lotaism?"
"Nope it is defined as vote trading in Wikipedia but the jury seems to be out whether it's ethical or not and the argument is that votes should not be traded as they should be cast on the merits of the case."
"Oh I see but in this country vote trading is not about voting on the merit of the case but on payment of cash or kind and by kind I include release of halwa puri, development funds or other remuneration in terms of office or money..."
"See that's what confuses me - I mean if vote is traded on the say so of an opposition candidate then it's bad but if it is cast on the say so of the party leader then it is regarded as good even though the selection process of the leader could be flawed and..."
"Yep it's like you say tomato (the American way) and I say tomato the British way."
"Right - I am not finished. What about the passage of an ordinance a few hours before voting is to start without consulting the Election Commission even though the ordinance can be ethically supported?"
"Timing is not Mian sahib's strong point."
"I thought he timed his trip to Saudi Arabia perfectly - he could not be held responsible for what happened as he wasn't present."
"We all know what his instructions were."
"Irrespective of that; anyway the Khanzadahs' actions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to stop vote trading, which is a good thing, was in fact illegal."
"Well you can denigrate Khan's party because they carried out a process that was not new."
"What?"
"PTI talks of change - the party should have formulated a new and improved version of stopping vote trading is all I am saying."
"You are being facetious."