PARTLY FACETIOUS: Naming and shaming has lost its pungency worldwide
'Naming and shaming is a tool that is dead.' 'It was not even birthed in the Land of the Pure. I mean, we go through cycles…'
'Yes I know about the cycles – boom which requires import of raw materials which are used to manufacture an item that is not that high in value addition plus the import of fuel and cooking oil which leads to severe balance of payment issues and then viola we need another International Monetary Fund programme.'
'No, that's not what I was referring to when I observed that naming and shaming is a tool that was never birthed in the Land of the Pure. Those who were named and shamed by Greedy for Portfolios Samdhi (GPS), in his former avatar as Minister of Finance, began to name and shame those members of parliament who never paid taxes and…'
'Ah, but this from a guy who never explained his own income source – I mean…'
'The court…'
'Indeed the court's verdict depends on arguments by the defence attorney and the prosecutor so GPS waits till his counterpart Samdhi is back in a position of strength and then neutralizes the prosecutor…'
'He is now off to China…do you reckon that…'
'China has always stood the test of…of…'
'Of time?'
'Well more the test of our leadership leading the country towards ruin and China has stood by us, so my point is whatever GPS may do wrong, the Chinese will have our back.'
'You mean irrespective of whether we have GPS or the Brown Pope or…or…'
'Has the Brown Pope shown any interest…'
'Well I heard that Notification Maryam Nawaz would be very happy if the Brown Pope diverts his attention towards the Foreign Affairs portfolio as he has been undermining her authority and…'
'How can a Minister of Interior with a jurisdiction limited to Islamabad…'
'IF you come via Bhatinda as they say the jurisdiction is countrywide and the Brown Pope does come via Bhatinda, but you know you distract me from what I was wanting to say. Naming and shaming has lost its pungency world-wide. The leadership of the Western world is taking decisions that one cannot endorse, in Israel and in trying to keep the Russia-Ukrainian war ongoing and…'
'Remember the famous dialogue from an Indian film whose name I don't recall – I mean, you have money and power and influence on one side, but these can be easily trumped if you have maa (mother) on yours.'
'I don't get you.'
'The West has its mainstream media on its side.'
'Hmmmmm.'
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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