“So what do you reckon? Sp or Sa?” “I don’t get you! Sp as in sun protection cream or Sa as in music – soprano or alto?”

“Seriously! I mean, which country do you live in?”

“Sorry, but these abbreviations are known worldwide.”

“Let me illuminate you: Sp in this land of ours stands for spying and Sa as in sabotage.”

“But these are English words – I mean, should you not have used Urdu words…”

“Like the English say curry is their national dish now, so spying and sabotage are now Urdu words.”

“Hmmmm.”

“Anyway, these two words are extremely relevant in our politics today.”

“Just a piece of advice, abandon politics all ye who enter the Land of the Pure because politics is a dirty game and with the tolerance level at an all-time…”

“Gotcha. I will limit myself to those who fail to understand their downgraded status. Take an example: you know The Samdhi’s terms of reference was to spy and report on all meetings of the Special Investment Facilitation Council chaired by the…by the…”

“Not quite right, is it! How about attended by?”

“Agreed and instead the guy bulldozed Atta Tarar to give him top billing on not only the state run television but also on the private channels while he was attending a conference at the taxpayers’ expense to attend the first-ever Nuclear Energy Summit, I reckon the energy minister should have attended it, and recited the people he met without any footage to show the veracity of his claim.”

“Dar held a press conference with like-minded media – those on the government’s payroll…anyway, it reminded me of the sediments left in a sand hourglass.”

“What?”

“The Samdhi put some sticky substance inside the hourglass and a few grains of sand are left….”

“But why would he feel the need for this when the hourglass is transparent and anyone can see what he is up to? Why are you laughing?”

“I guess it’s his last hurrah.”

“But it must be angering a lot of powerful people.”