Soft Power of Pakistan

Parcam-i Sitārah o Hilāl (Flag of the Star and Crescent).
A white star and crescent on a dark green field, with a vertical white stripe at the hoist

The “soft power” indicates the ability of a nation to project its positive aspects in a foreign country without the use of hard power or compulsion. The term was proposed by an American political scientist Joseph S Nye, who thought that successful modern states need both hard and soft forces to shape their permanent attitudes and preferences. Nye defines soft power as

“The ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion,”

This includes “culture, values and foreign policies.” Although “soft power” has many positive benefits; in the case of developing or less developed countries, it has been reduced to a mere intellectual debate.

Pakistan is a multi-cultural society with extremely diverse and appealing cultures. The projection of cultural diversity through media can portray a softer image of Pakistan. Pakistan is home to rich and the world’s oldest civilizations–Gandhara and Indus Valley (Moen-jo-Daro). It is the gateway to the world’s great religions: Islam and Buddhism. It is rich in tourism, stretches from the mighty Karakoram in the North to the vast alluvial delta of the Indus River in the South. Pakistan is home to numerous peaks above 7,000 meters. Pakistan is enriched, with rich and varied flora and fauna. Mighty Himalayas, Karakoram and the Hindukush ranges, with their alpine meadows and a permanent snow line, coniferous forests of the hills running down to the sub-mountain areas, the vast Indus plain merging into the great desert, the coastline and wetlands, which can hold any tourist breathlessly awful in wonder and amazement.

Mohenjo-daro is an archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2500 BCE. Mohenjo-daro was abandoned in the 19th century BCE as the Indus Valley Civilization declined, and the site was not rediscovered until the 1920s. Significant excavation has since been conducted at the site of the city, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. These mentioned details are taken from Wikipedia

The Karakoram Highway known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35, or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a 1,300 km (810 mi) national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in the Punjab province of Pakistan to the Khunjerab Pass in Gilgit-Baltistan, where it crosses into China and becomes China National Highway 314. These mentioned details are taken from Wikipedia

The Hindu Kush is an 800-kilometre-long mountain range that stretches through Afghanistan, from its centre to Northern Pakistan and into Tajikistan. Its highest point is Tirich Mir.

Pakistani cuisine is also as diverse as its people, which, with proper promotion, could be another feather in Pakistan’s cap internationally. Likewise, tourism, especially adventure tourism, could have been, and still is, Pakistans’ soft powers resources are underutilized. Its educational institutions have produced some of the best-qualified professionals in the world, including doctors, engineers, bankers, financiers, and entrepreneurs. It has higher educational institutions, which often rank in the world’s top five hundred institutes. As compared to India, keeping in view its ratio of area and population, it is no mean achievement of Pakistan.

Representation of Pakistani Cuisine

There is no doubt that Pakistan’s immediate source of soft power stemmed from hard sources. Pakistan should project itself as a resilient nation. Pakistan’s army is one of the fourth most professional and disciplined armies in the world and, they are defending the homeland in war and doing exemplary rescue missions in peace. They have also assisted in disaster management and humanitarian relief work. They have already done their remarkable role as peacekeepers to the UN missions.

Pakistani flag along with United Nations flag at head-quarter of UN in New York.

It is our misfortune that due to active Indian propaganda against us as a “terrorist state,” and partly due to the internal law and order coupled with the alarming situation on our borders, (the indolence of our foreign missions, not withstanding) we could not tap our tourism industry to its full potential. The outside world could never know what a beautiful country Pakistan was and still is! Pakistan has done wonders in sports, like cricket, hockey, squash, and snooker. Pakistan has a flourishing and thriving think-tank culture, which can engage its counterparts globally. The country has a vibrant media and evolving civil society. Pakistani diaspora is spread all over the world and is earning a lot of goodwill for Pakistan due to their sheer hard work. Recently the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has brightened the prospects of economic development. Pakistan has a youth bulge and a good size of human capital.

The embarrassment Pakistan faces before the world today is only due to its failure in projecting its soft power despite being immensely gifted by nature. We have braved many a storm and learned much from our past errors. We have found honest leadership and are now hopefully on the path to peace and honor in the world.

Pakistan needs to formulate a well-calibrated strategy to project its soft power. The use of soft power should be a policy tool rather than a mere projection of a positive image. For this Pakistani diaspora, human capital, including vibrant youth and skilled manpower, and the media could be used as sources of; enhancing the soft image of Pakistan in the world.