(Disclaimer: this is a work of fiction. Learn to take a joke; you’ll live longer.)
Finance minister Asad Umer on Thursday clicked on a pop-up ad on his official laptop that had announced that there were hot and easy international financial institutions in his area.
“I have received some official communication about the provision of easy credit on loans from international financial institutions,” he said, while speaking to The Dependent at Q Block, Federal Secretariat. “And, what a coincidence, they are not only in the country, all three of these institutions have their representatives within a 4-mile radius. I don’t even have to step out of the city, what to speak of the country.”
“Yes, there are some formalities that have to be ironed out as far as the expression of interest is concerned. For instance, they want me to register with my official credit card on their site,” he said. “They are so digital that all there official work is done online, which is something the babus here need to learn from.”
“This is what a demonstrably clean government does. It builds trust with foreign governments and institutions,” he continued. “For instance, why would my official e-mail be flooded with a host of Nigerian princes wanting to enter into financial transactions with the Pakistani government?”