23rd December 2016 London, UK
As we look forward to 2017 and celebrating the Scottish holiday of Hogmanay, I’m thinking about the special link between Scotland and Pakistan. The British High Commission in Islamabad has an active Scottish contingent, who support the relationship between Pakistan and the whole of the UK, including Scotland, on issues ranging from economic development to […]
21st June 2016 Islamabad, Pakistan
If you are living in the Northern hemisphere, and observing traditional fasting, then this year’s Ramazan is particularly difficult. The difference between the Islamic calendar and the Gregorian calendar means that every year it shifts nine or ten days, and for those fasting, this year it falls slap bang in the middle of the longest […]
26th August 2015 Islamabad, Pakistan
Last night, I hosted the lion’s share of the 73 Chevening Scholars heading from Pakistan to the UK this autumn to study Masters Degrees at some of the UK’s top universities. I took the opportunity to say a few words: Thank you for joining me here at the British High Commission. I am delighted to […]
4th August 2014 Islamabad, Pakistan
This is my first blog for the High Commission and a quick look at the archives tells me that it’s the first time in a long time that a member of the Defence Team has rolled up his sleeves and ‘put fingers to keyboard’. So when Alison Blake, our Deputy High Commissioner, asked me to […]
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11th May 2014 Islamabad, Pakistan
A year ago today, Pakistan went to the polls to elect a new Government. Some 50 million Pakistanis turned out to vote. They made a statement about the future they want for their country – a future based on democracy and accountability through the ballot box. We went on to see the first ever full […]
25th September 2012 London, UK
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 […]
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9th August 2012 Islamabad, Pakistan
When visiting my regular family summer holiday spot in North Wales each year as a child, it was unimaginable that one day I would be taking my first (and hopefully not my last) summer holiday in the Baltistan region of Pakistan. Since arriving on my diplomatic posting to Pakistan earlier this year at the British […]
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30th May 2012 Islamabad, Pakistan
It is 6.30 am Saturday morning in Lahore, the room service waiter points at the TV news and says “that’s you”. I agree that it is, as footage plays of a meeting I had the day before with Nawaz Sharif, PML-N political leader and twice former Prime Minister of Pakistan, and, Shabaz Sharif, his brother […]
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28th May 2012 London, UK
You’ve seen the photographs of the Prime Ministers outside the door of Number 10 Downing Street. But after the politicians and cameras have left, what does it add up to? I’m one of the behind-the-scenes people in London and Islamabad. You won’t see any of us in the photos, but we’re the ones who made […]
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13th April 2012 Islamabad, Pakistan
I really enjoy sharing my experiences and thoughts in an informal way through this blog. I’ve been able to do blog posts on subjects as diverse as foreign policy issues, the Commonwealth, the trade and education links between the UK and Pakistan and of course cricket. And I have particularly valued the feed back. But […]