It’s all in the optics

There is a serial failure to effectively market externally aspects of national image that cast a positive light

As statements of the blindingly obvious go, “Pakistan has a perception problem” is up there with “the sun rises in the east”. It was the Nationality Security Adviser who said this on Sunday at a two-day conference entitled “Pakistan, media opportunities and challenges” organised by the Associated Press of Pakistan. He listed the wrongs that contribute to the poor image the country has internationally — that of playing a double game in Afghanistan, the threat presented by extremism and terrorism, the security or otherwise of the nuclear arsenal (there has never been a shred of evidence that it was anything other than secure) and unending poverty.

Unfortunately and with the “nuclear risk” option excepted, there are elements of reality about all that he laid before the conference. As a state Pakistan is adept at shooting itself in the foot, denying reality — the penetration of Islamic State being a prime example of that in recent years — and the failure to follow through on key security-related initiatives like the National Action Plan which are served up to us by the foreign media as examples of just why it is that external perceptions do not match those projected internally.

Additionally, there is a serial failure to effectively market externally those aspects of the national image that cast a positive light. For all its flaws the Benazir Income Support Programme has made significant inroads in terms of alleviating particularly rural poverty. There are real advances on the education front as well with IT increasingly in the classrooms and contributing to accurate data gathering and broadening learning.

On the downside, there is the appalling treatment of minorities generally, and the rights of women that are at best paid lip service to. Both are difficult to put a positive spin on and neither is a priority for rectification by any political party. There were delegates from 15 nations at the moot who heard nothing new and nothing that they did not already know. The easy obvious got another airing, the more difficult “what we are going to do about it” — was nowhere to be seen or heard.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2018.

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