Afridi urges youth to stand united as ‘ambassadors’ of the country online

ISLAMABAD: Having become stars in their own right commanding audiences of millions, social media personalities on Wednesday stated that social media platforms must be used to unite people even as a junior federal minister urged them to stand united as ‘ambassadors’ of the country online.

This was urged on Wednesday during the Social Media Conclave 2019 at the Aiwan-e-Quaid. The conclave had been organised by Volunteers Pakistan.

State Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Shehryar Afridi said that unity among all segments of Pakistan was paramount to realise Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision of unity, faith and discipline.



“We need to recognise our origin, heritage, ethics and our roots,” he said, adding, “We need to unite to compete in a polarised world. Synergise our forces and focus.”

“Do not let the world divide you .. see what happened to Syrians, Iraqis, and even with Afghans,” the state minister said.

Afridi stated that the west had distorted our social fabric and there was a need to become one body and soul. Until that happens, he said the world will not respect us.

Terming the youth as the country’s most precious asset, Afridi said that they should realise their potential and make an impact on social media.

The former state minister for interior said state institutions should not be blamed for individual miscalculations and mistakes, adding that individual failures are used to mock and blame Pakistan.

Given that the event took place on World Labour Day, he pointed to the irony of having to import a western concept.

“It is an irony that Islam was the first religion in the world which ensured labour rights but we borrow western ideas to observe Labour Day,” he said.

American travel blogger Cynthia Ritchie said she had extensively travelled across Pakistan and had developed an attachment with the country and its loving people.

“The way all Pakistanis are not terrorists, all Americans are not agents,” she stated in a pointed barb.

“Americans are a peaceful and loving nation. I came to Pakistan and was taken aback to see such a diversified and loving thriving nation,” she explained her motivations to promote Pakistan's true image through her blogs.

“Social media is a platform to link people from various backgrounds and synergise different nations,” Ritchie said, adding, "we must use this social media platform to unite people rather than dividing them."

“I travelled Pakistan extensively from the former federally administered tribal areas to Kashmir, Balochistan and Sindh. I have been to South and North Waziristan and there were groups who trolled me on social media for telling truth about Pakistan. But I need to tell them that I am going to stay,” she announced.

Ritchie also had advice for a government seeking to boost tourism, suggesting that Islamabad has a lot of work to do to tailor its narrative.



“We should welcome different narratives but what I have seen is that Pakistan lacks unity, faith, discipline. Individuals at the helm need to leave their egos aside and put Pakistan first in their priorities. On social media, ask anyone engaging with you if they are interested in conflict or a conversation. Make your own decisions and determine if they're interested in creating conflict out of a conversation,” she advised.

Expatriate blogger Mir Mohammad Ali Khan conceded that he had spent most of life overseas and he literally missed everything about Pakistan.

“Merely criticising your country is not enough, you need to come up with solutions too,” he added.   

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2019.