Pakistan Is Possible

It is indeed a historic moment since last two decades to revive cricket through Pakistan Super League (PSL). In the most vibrant cities like Lahore, Karachi & Islamabad, (Information Communication Technology (ICT) Startup culture has started to rise. The number of literary Festivals is increasing as Alhamra International Literary & Cultural Festival Lahore (December 2015), Karachi Literature Festival (February 2016) and the upcoming Islamabad Literature Festival in April 2016 under the generous support of USAID, Italian & French Embassies and Oxford University Press of Pakistan. Book fairs, fashion shows, trade expos, investment forums and other similar activities are getting popular throughout the country. New Pakistani movies like Manto, Ho Mann Jahan, Bin Roye, Wrong Number and Karachi say Lahore are being released and getting immense national as well international popularity. Young entrepreneurs are experimenting new things and the establishment of business incubation centers in various universities of Pakistan is the exemplary changes one can see happening in Pakistan.

The story doesn’t ends here. The concept of “Brand Pakistan” is being promoted at various governmental, private and educational institutions to deliver a message of Positive Pakistan to the international community in order to attract results oriented foreign direct investment. This is a fact that without the power of positive approach, no country can grow. Therefore, it is a general feel in the youth of Pakistan that it wants to see itself as proud Pakistani entitled to get respect with honor like all the other international communities. This is why, time has come to think positive and say positive about Pakistan. This wonderful approach will introduce the country to outside world through the passion and contribution of the exemplary people of Pakistan in fields of culture, food, sports, arts, business, academia, and technology.

The world knows us, the world is acknowledging Pakistanis. Muniba Mazari, Pakistan’s first female goodwill ambassador to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Kiran Khan, an Olympic swimmer with 346 gold medals, 50 international medals and one of the first international female swimmers for Pakistan. Kamran Ali, the first adventurous Pakistani who completed 10,000 km journey on bicycle from Germany to Pakistan with the message of peace and harmony. Salman Ahmad, the first Pakistani to receive a Musclemania pro card in Las Vegas, the first time in 25 years to receive gold medal and then the world title. Dr Umer Saif, an Associate Professor of Science and Engineering at the Lahore University of Management Science (LUMS) who has been named one of the top 35 innovators of the world (TR35) by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Naila Alam and Yasmeen Durrani, two Pakistani women who have been honored by the White House for their humanitarian work. The Honour of Hope Award recipients manage a philanthropic venture called “Express Care” which focuses on providing daily essentials, such as food and medicine, to low income individuals. Professor Asim Khawaja, the first professor of Pakistani descent that has been hired by the prestigious Harvard University’s John F Kennedy School of Government. His research has received coverage from numerous media outlets including The Economist, New York Times, Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, Aljazeera, CNN and BBC. Rafiullah Kakar, 23 years of age and hailing from Balochistan, the young gentleman is the 2013 Rhodes Scholar for Pakistan. The Rhodes scholarship is awarded to one Pakistani annually to study at Oxford University, UK. Hailing from one of the most volatile regions in the world, securing such a prestigious scholarship is a testament to this gentleman’s dedication and sincerity. Shahid Khan, a Pakistani-born billionaire based in the USA, completed the purchase of the English Premier League football club Fulham FC from Egyptian business mogul Mohamed Al Fayed. The completion of the deal, which is valued at around 150 million to 200 million pounds sterling, has made Khan the sixth American and probably the first man of Pakistani origin to purchase a Premier League club. Last but not the least, Karachi-born quantum astrophysicist Nergis Mavalvala, Associate Department Head of Physics at MIT is a member of the team of scientists that announced on Thursday February 11, 2016 the scientific milestone of detecting gravitational waves, ripples in space and time hypothesized by physicist Albert Einstein a century ago.

Being a country, we are changing. Pakistan is rising. From February 12, 2016 Pakistan’s parliament is now the first parliament in the world to be completely powered by solar energy. With the educational and professional support of vibrant institutes of higher learning in Pakistan like COMATS Institute of Information Technology Islamanad, National Center for Physics Islamabad, Pakistan Nuclear Society and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Pakistan has thus become the first (among Asian countries) member of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The associate membership will open a new era of cooperation that will strengthen the long-term partnership between CERN and the Pakistani scientific community. Moody’s Investors Service raised Pakistan’s credit outlook rating from stable to positive. Pakistan’s credit rating has been upgraded for the first time since 2006. The benchmark KSE100 stock index has rallied 56 percent since mid-2013 and according to Bloomberg, Pakistan ranked third in 2014 amongst the Top Ten Best Performing Markets in the world. Moreover, as in business report of KSE, in the MSCI Asian Frontier Markets, Pakistan ranked number one – outpacing Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Bangladesh by a big margin. Political stability is one of the key reasons for increase in foreign investment; stable rupee, low inflation, and GDP growth steadily ticking up. Pakistan in 2013 saw for the first time in history, a civilian to civilian handover of government, and that has brought optimism among foreign investors regarding Pakistan’s economic outlook. Year 2008 till Year 2011, Pakistan has seen huge number of terrorist attacks on key strategic infrastructure and important assets of Pakistan but the Pakistan Army took the lead and now almost curbed the terrorists out of the country. Foreign investors feel that business environment is getting stable and have room for further improvement in future. CPEC with China and North South Cooperation with Russia, getting into the membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organization and playing a vital role as an arbitrate between Iran and Saudi Arabia makes Pakistan as one of the most important country in the region and in global community.

Let me not forget to state that it is all being done amidst occasional bomb blasts, sectarian conflicts, low score on Human Development Index (HDI) and a full scale war going in the North. Pakistan is morphing at amazing speed. It is happening through a young generation that is well educated, ambitious, creative borrowing ideas from west and customizing it to local needs. However, it doesn’t imply that government is doing the finest. Government has to upgrade existing infrastructure and build new ones. It has to create employment opportunities, it has to control inflation rate. It has to ensure the availability of basic human needs like clean drinking water, shelter, electricity and gas. Last but not the least, as suggested by learned Dr Atta ur Rahman in his recent op-ed, Pakistan has to invest in the  four pillars of national progress: high quality education; science & Technology; innovation & entrepreneurship and a governance system that allows merit to prevail and offers quick and fair justice. 

However, I maintain that as in past we had many reasons to regret and mourn, similarly, we should be very honest and celebrate with proud the  success stories Pakistanis are making under the green flag and making the world believe that “Pakistan is Possible”.