Pakistan: Perception and Reality


Written by Javed Ansari • Cover Stories • October 2010

1-1 When a U.S. scholar visited Pakistan recently, despite advice from friends to be careful, as he put it, he "wandered around pristine parks populated by happy young couples, broke bread with peace-loving Pakistanis from the media and civil society" and generally went about his business each day without getting harassed, kidnapped or blown up.

He realized that there was a sharp disconnect between international perceptions of Pakistan and the actual situation. He was forced to ask himself: why does then Pakistan have such a poor image abroad? The explanation that he came up with was that foreign depictions of Pakistan are exaggerated and over-simplified and a more nuanced, balanced and accurate picture would emerge if only Pakistan marketed itself to the world in a better manner.

It is true that Pakistan suffers from a weak cultural presence abroad and what it seriously needs is a marketable soft image. For instance, it has been noted that there are very few Pakistani singers, actors, writers or artists who attract audiences beyond the segments of overseas Pakistanis living in Britain, North America and the Gulf states.

So far, not much serious thought has gone into projecting Pakistan's deeply rich and diverse arts and culture scene which mostly goes unreported and unappreciated. At the other end of the spectrum, the country's poor security situation is also a sore reality. As a result, the only reporting on Pakistan in world media concerns incidents of violence and terror rather than anything else. It almost seems that if there is a positive or happy occurrence in the country, the world is not interested in knowing about it - or even believing that it could actually happen in Pakistan!

However, whatever the obstacles and hindrances, whatever the pitfalls and shortcomings, and how deeply negative the country perception, there could be a no better time than this to make a serious effort towards presenting the real Pakistan to the world. In the words of a hardnosed marketer, this is a challenge that must be accepted and a focused effort made to sell Pakistan as a brand. If Pakistan is presented in a positive light, it will serve to improve its world perception and also create a positive image of Muslims in general - a picture that has been seriously distorted and warped by the anti-Islamic forces who have been further emboldened in wake of the 9/11 conspiracy against the Muslim world.

The very powerful elements machinating against the Muslims have succeeded in creating a global environment where ‘Terrorism' and ‘Islam' are clubbed together and countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran are deliberately and systematically associated with acts of terrorism. This is a dangerous trend that needs to be countered in a very forceful manner and the world mindset about Pakistan changed.

It is also important to inculcate a stronger sense of patriotism and pride in the people of Pakistan by anchoring them in a true ownership of their heritage and motivating them as proud Pakistanis. If this is done successfully, the outcome will lead to greater national integrity and a higher feeling of self-worth. A positive self-image will give to every Pakistani more confidence as a member of the global community and each individual will perform with greater responsibility rather than perceiving himself or herself as an underdog and becoming a victim of all kinds of mischief and scams. The series of scandals cooked up during the Pakistan cricket tour of England this summer is a case in point. In fact, an affirmative image of the country, promoted with conviction and force by the government and individuals at all international forums, will command more respect around the world and anti-Pakistan elements will think twice before hatching conspiracies against the country and its people.

Needless to say that once a credible and positive image of Pakistan takes root, it will help in putting the country's tourism industry on rails and capitalizing on its enormous potential. It needs to be stressed that right from the heights of the Karakorams to the depths of the Arabian Sea, Pakistan is blessed with tremendous tourist attractions that have never been projected the way they should have been. The irony is that many other countries with not a fraction of Pakistan's tourist treasures have succeeded in registering their country image as popular tourism destinations. All that they had in their favor was the right country perception and the conviction that they could project and market whatever little they had in the right manner.

A country that has rich natural resources and offers the requisite manpower and business infrastructure is also bound to become an attractive destination for foreign investment. Pakistan passes the test on all these counts but suffers seriously where country image is concerned. In times when the international perception about Pakistan has been positive, foreign investment has come into the country in reasonably high volumes but when conditions have deteriorated and image has suffered, the foreign investment tap has dried up and foreign capital has taken flight.

A country with a positive image tends to benefit in so many other ways. There is more exchange of ideas with other members of the world community and there is a reversal in the brain drain with the result that the country is able to utilize its intellectual capital for its own greater benefit.

With its unique physical characteristics, its rich diversity and its warm and hospitable people, Pakistan is one country on the world map that deserves to be accepted and respected for all that it offers. Pakistan is also a country that has played a significant role in the world as a responsible global citizen and should be duly acknowledged for the services it has always rendered so selflessly.

The country has had one of the world's largest deployment of peacekeeping troops and observers, its officers and men having acquitted themselves honorably and heroically all the way from Bosnia and Somalia to Namibia, Kuwait, Haiti, Cambodia, Congo, West New Guinea, Rwanda, Angola, Eastern Slavonia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire and Sudan. There are so many real-life stories of heroism and sacrifice by Pakistani soldiers that must be told with conviction and confidence. For instance, there is that highly daring episode when the Seventh Frontier Force Regiment of the Pakistan Army rescued trapped U.S. soldiers in thickly populated Mogadishu city's Madina Bazaar in Somalia under quite adverse conditions. This is a story that the country should have trumpeted widely but did not for some odd reason.

There is nothing in the general Pakistani outlook that encourages terrorism and religious fanaticism because it is a land of peace-loving people who enjoy their music, their poetry and literature and their cuisine and who revel in the visual and performing arts, in fashion trends and in ethnic multiplicity.

Pakistan is one of those few countries in the world that are blessed with an extremely rich cultural heritage and a long history stretching back to some seven millennia. It is the land of Gandhara, Harappa, Moenjodaro and Mehrgarh, the latter being one of the most important Neolithic sites in archaeology, dating back 2,500 BC to 7,000 BC. Located in Balochistan near the Bolan Pass, between Quetta, Kalat and Sibi, Mehrgarh is one of the world's earliest sites where evidence of farming and livestock breeding has been discovered.

In the contemporary context, shocking as this may be to many misinformed people around the world, Pakistan is a country where women work shoulder to shoulder with men in roles as diverse as doctors, teachers, TV anchors, engineers, lawyers and architects to politicians, judges, civil servants, scientists, geologists, journalists, army officers, airline pilots, air traffic controllers and even jet fighter pilots. In fact, today's Pakistani woman is more empowered than ever before and this could not have happened in the sort of ‘closed' society that Pakistan is projected to be. It was Pakistan which gave the Islamic world its first woman prime minister in the person of Benazir Bhutto and the first among Islamic nations where the National Assembly is currently run by a female speaker.

With a predominantly young and hardworking population, half of which is female, Pakistan has all that it takes. It is a progressive yet moderate country without a distinct brand image. Since Pakistan has come to be recognized for all the wrong reasons what it urgently needs is an effective and convincing selling campaign thoughtfully built around all the success stories that it offers.