Lobbying and image of pakistan

FOURTEEN telephone calls and 15 meetings: this is part of the six months of activity an American lobbying firm did for Pakistan. The firm is paid $75,000 a month to advance Pakistan`s cause and stem the downhill slide of its image. As a report by our diplomatic correspondent points out, despite the nearly one million dollars given annually to the firm, Pakistan`s image has earned it few admirers. There is a long list of reasons why the American public has developed the kind of view it has about this country. Islamabad`s role in the war on terror, the post-Salala confrontation and the army`s covert relationship with the Haqqani militia have merely contributed to an image that has been negative for quite some time because of Pakistan`s domestic scene bordering on anarchy. It is not a question of an incident here and there; it is decades of political chaos and extremist violence which have given Pakistan the stamp of an abnormal country.

A country`s image is not created overnight, nor can lobbyists succeed in theirjob when the news emanating from the country shows perpetual chaos, a constant perversion of constitutional and legal processes, sectarian violence,unabashed persecution of women and minorities, massive financial scams, a horrendous level of xenophobic violence that deters foreign tourists and investment, the purported misuse and waste of foreign aid, and above all, a corrupt elite that is perceived to be indifferent to national interests.

In such a scenario, lobbyists can do little to earn their keep. A country`s image is built at home, not abroad, for it stems from the kind of message a nation gives to the world by collective behaviour and by its commitment to principles universally shared. The lobbying firm may win over a couple of congressmen or journalists willing to listen, but this will be a poor substitute for what the people of Pakistan themselves and their leaders can and should do to reverse the image. A stable, democratic and peaceful Pakistan will in itself constitute an image that would hardly need lobbying.