Helen Chorlton

I have been Head of Communications at the British High Commission in Islamabad since May 2012.

This is my second posting to South Asia. Before coming to Pakistan, I spent two years working on Security Sector and Human Rights issues at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, and before that I served as a Programme Manager, managing theUK’s support to Afghanistan at the British Embassy in Kabul. I have also worked on human rights issues from London and prior to this spent time living and working at the UK Representation to the EU in Brussels. My main professional interests include security sector reform, communications and international organisations, as well as the counties and regions where I have either lived and worked or covered from London.

I grew up in the North West of England near Manchester, home to a very large Pakistani community, South Asian food (Curry Mile) and to two premier league football teams, Manchester United and Manchester City. Cricket is also very popular in Manchester and the Pakistani National Cricket team have played international matches at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester.

Educated at the University of Warwick (near Birmingham) and the University of London, my passions as a student included Philosophy, Psychology and International Development. I still very much carry my passion for these subjects today as well as a love of art and photography which I have had since I was a child. I am also very interested in travelling, learning about other cultures and in particular, enjoying the outdoors. I love hiking and cycling and feel privileged to have enjoyed the beauty of Pakistan’s hills and mountains already. I am also a huge animal lover and although I don’t have any pets of my own right now, I am always on the look out.

I’ll be blogging about similarities and differences between Pakistan and the UK and my general experiences here.

Thank you to so many of you that have already made me feel at home here. I look forward to writing my next blog soon.