"He can't afford to. Politically he would be committing suicide if he desists from whatever it is you think he should desist from."
"But he is involved in so many jobs that there is no way he can give his full attention to any one. I mean he is the President..."
"And says the Government is being run by the Chosen One. But we all are aware that it is actually being run by Musharraf and the very dregs of the job is being undertaken by Chaudhry Sahib and his band of merry men who would dump the Chosen One as soon as Musharraf is politically dead."
"Ah yes, but it does show the outer limits of Musharraf's power."
"Indeed."
"Then he is the Chief of Army Staff."
"And no one in the army is disgruntled because many generals are being sent to those countries where generals are acceptable as emissaries and then there are other jobs that are now earmarked for generals."
"I think it is time that we change the psyche of our people."
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Whenever my brother did badly in school he was told the army was the only place left for him. We must send our crème de la crème to the army from now on because they seem to have ruled us more than civilians."
"Bad idea. You need those who follow in the army more than those who lead."
"Oh well, it was a thought. Anyway then Musharraf is also a patron in chief of the cricket board."
"Yep and there are many other appointments he has conferred upon himself but the latest one is to head a committee to monitor the work on watercourses and my question is: what does he know of this? Shouldn't he have someone who knows about this subject?"
"Senior politicians head such committees to ensure political commitment..."
"But he says he is not a politician..."
"If wishes were horses..."
"And they are as I have said before. But how long will the committee's work last?"
"Three years."
"That would take us into end 2007?"
"Yep the year the uniform will come off according to the Chosen One."
"If wishes were horses as we said before..."
"Be grateful for small mercies. Musharraf didn't say the committee was to end the work in four years."
"I guess."