Katherine Fox

Katherine Fox

Head of Strategic Communications for Pakistan

Part of UK in Pakistan

25th September 2012 London, UK

Made in Pakistan: exporting the right image

London's Oxford
Image by freephoto.com

Brand new bed linen from one of the department stores for which London’s Oxford Street is famous.  Unwrapping the layers of packaging I noticed the label: made in Pakistan.  I wondered if it had come from the factory whose owner I had met in Lahore, where we discussed everything from electricity shortages, to labour law to the impact of international trading laws on Pakistan’s ability to compete and export.

Visiting again, and I went to one of Pakistan’s most ancient sites.

Buddha, Taxila Museum
Image by Amir Taj, fotopedia

“This is a statue of Buddha in the Greek style” the guide from Taxila Museum told me.  Sure enough, Buddha’s long flowing robes could be nothing but the style of Ancient Greece.  The guide went on to show us statues of Buddha with Chinese influenced faces alongside Christian crosses on the floor tiles of the same period.

These two images stuck in my mind because they seemed so far removed from what I knew my friends in London were seeing of Pakistan that week.  Facebook messages encouraging them to sign a petition to free Rimsha Masih, the teenage girl accused of blasphemy.  Harrowing images on rolling news channels as the scale of the fire in a factory in Karachi became clear.

I can’t pretend to my London friends that the images they see of Pakistan aren’t true.  Since 1988 around 1,000 cases of blasphemy have been lodged, about half of which are against Muslims.  Pakistan has suffered much tragedy, from natural and human-made disasters to terrorism.  So how can I help them to see that there is more to Pakistan than this?

I’ve discovered that many people from Pakistan or connected to Pakistan are asking the same question.  The Telegraph’s Rob Crilly explains why he thinks it matters for the big stuff, and challenges Pakistan to work on its PR machine.  The British Pakistan Foundation has given the diaspora a voice directly with the government of Pakistan to explain why this matters and how they can address it.  Caroline Jaine has been using the arts.  Fellow blogger Helen Chorlton identifies the positive benefits increased tourism could bring.  We’ve been asking British Pakistanis what they would say to speak up for Pakistan in a series of video debates .

The statue of the Buddha I saw in Pakistan was Greek in style partly because Taxila was close to the key trade route of the Silk Road.  The culture and influences of those passing along the Silk Road mixed with the local and caused both to travel far and still leave their traces two centuries later.

The Silk Road has gone, but people are travelling a new route: there are over 1.2 million people of Pakistan origin living in the UK.  There are over 1.4 million journeys by air between the UK and Pakistan each year and trade between the countries is increasing year on year.  They are connections which can benefit both countries.  The UK’s advocacy of greater EU market access for Pakistan will help the factory owner I met in Lahore.  They are also connections which can help people in Pakistan see there is more to the UK than just Buckingham Palace and the visa application process, and my London friends see a fuller picture of Pakistan which includes tragedy and disaster, but so much more.

4 comments on “Made in Pakistan: exporting the right image

  1. while we in pakistan usually pay little interest to both teh blasphemy issues and exports as they have little to do with most of teh people…obviously a country like britain that has huge imports should take an interest in bed linen and other cotton/sports exports from pakistan…the terrorism scenario has reduced a lot of interest in tourism and even pakistanis find themselves avoiding any area with a law and order problem…one must not try to avoid teh problem issues as they are necessary to understand a country…viz britain one sees a huge potential for air travel and obviously a large number of bussiness related tourism as well as politicos spending their holidays in britain…other areas are the spending of DFID…pakistan whether it is more than teh issues it faces should be dealt with by not focusing on just a few issues…pakistan at teh moment is literally drowning in teh issues as teh governments have been unable to deal with most issues either to placate or resolve…even before i think british bussinessmen were used to travelling to lahore or karachi

  2. Dear Ms. Katherine,

    Without any doubt, your point of view that beside said examples; there is lot more to discover in Pakistan & know about it like not only garment but largest sports industry of World is also Pakistan, footballs used in FIFA are made in Sialkot, Pakistan. Our rices are exported Worldwide, the fruit & lot lot more.
    Not to mention, many emerging talents which are now shining around World are some Pakistanis as well making World records, doing exceptions, bridging nations.

    I WOULD REQUEST YOU & YOUR TEAM TO CHECK OUR PROJECT “VOICE PAKISTAN; FROM FOREIGNER’S EYE” ON MENTIONED WEBSITE & OUR FACEBOOK PAGE (www.facebook.com/VoicePakistan) & find out 100s of amazing foreigners like you speaking about beautiful Pakistan, the business opportunities & their experiences on Pakistan.

    Thank you,
    Muntazir Mahdi
    Founder – Head
    Lets Build On (LBoN)
    Pakistan.
    Video profile: http://youtu.be/7t1VAlsRPZs

  3. This is the right time to aware people all over the world that what are the real facts Silk route play important role in it . Taxila yes very interesting place. So its a good role play by U.k in Pakistan to have a good relations between people of both countries

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About Katherine Fox

I have been Head of Strategic Communications for Pakistan at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London since March 2011. It’s a great job that gets me away from my…

I have been Head of Strategic Communications for Pakistan at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London since March 2011. It’s a great job that gets me away from my desk, working with British Pakistani community organisations, interviewing people with interesting connections to Pakistan for our celebrating connections project as well as co-ordinating communications work across government. I’ve also worked on Russia, timing all my visits for the middle of winter, and in the home civil service on electoral reform and British constitutional reform (contrary to popular belief, we do have a constitution, it’s just not written down in one document). I’ve lived in London for longer than I’ve lived anywhere else, and continue to enjoy visiting its theatres, museums and parks. I grew up in rural East Anglia and still love visiting the seaside, whatever the weather.

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