Pakistan’s holy grail

It appears that a ‘soft image’ has become a holy grail for Pakistan and its leaders, and rightly so. There does seem to be some cognizance, in recent years, that perception is keeping our country from realising its potential. The recent reorientation towards what we are calling ‘geo-economics’ certainly signals that. Still, for now, a soft image of Pakistan that overshadows any and all negativity emanating is elusive – and will likely remain so – for a number of factors.

Speaking at the first National Amateur Short Film Festival Awards, Prime Minister Imran Khan brought up this theme again. During the course of his address, he urged Pakistan’s next generation of filmmakers to present the ‘true and real’ image of Pakistan by exploring the vast variety and rich diversity of climate, culture and civilisation in the country. That is certainly fair enough. Pakistan lies on one of greatest crossroads of history and boasts tantalising diversity in terms of both culture and geography. Still, cultivating a soft image is easier said than done. One can argue that many members of our civil society have been doing their best towards this end with or without encouragement from the government.

So how should we go about it? There are some lessons to be drawn from other nations that have managed just this feat. Take neighbouring India, for instance, which despite actions that ought to raise concern, still enjoys a favourable perception in the comity of nation. In a capitalist world order, economic power can be said to buy some goodwill.

But beyond that, let’s have an honest re-examination of our own social and national shortcomings. We are not the only country in the world with them, but we could try perhaps to overcome some of them. We could, for instance, improve the rule of law, become more sensitive to our marginalised communities and enable a more stable environment for investment. These are aspects where our government has to take the lead as well.

Our government could also start by re-evaluating how it communicates both within and outside our country. The recent interview debacle, for instance, won us no favours from outside. A more nuanced and empathetic approach to politics and communication would achieve a lot more when it comes to a softer image.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2021.

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