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Picture of the Day: Imagining Pakistan

Posted on June 12, 2006
Filed Under >Adil Najam, Photo of the Day, Society
143 Comments
Total Views: 32873

Adil Najam

PIA print advertisement from the 1960s (Originally uploaded by PakPositive.com which is a blog that highlights the positives aspects of Pakistan).

Let me continue with the ‘Image Pakistan’ theme in choosing the picture for today. I find this advert for PIA absolutely fascinating; both for what it says about how PIA (Pakistan International Airlines) saw itself and how it saw Pakistan (or wanted Pakistan to be seen).

Was this the reality of Pakistan before theso-called ‘darhi wallahs’ took center stage? Or was this ‘image’ of Pakistan as much out-of-sync with the reality of what was Pakistan then, as the image of the bearded-gun-totting-bomb- throwing-jihadi-Pakistani is today?


Your Ad Here

Speaking of ‘image’ and ‘brand’ the Association of Pakistani Professionals (AOPP) has recently launched an initiative on the subject and held a thoughtful and thought-provoking event on he subject in New York on June 3. I was asked to moderate part of the program, and found the discussion to be mature, reasoned and reasonable–something we should have more of.

143 comments posted

Comment Pages: « 1817 16 15 14 [13] 12 11 10 91 »

  1. neo says:
    May 16th, 2007 8:26 am

    agree with usman… even islam doesnt allow one to force a female into covering. compulsion should come from religions education and understanding of ahkaam.

  2. neo says:
    May 16th, 2007 8:19 am

    Qurat ul ain, why dont you leave such a ‘backward’ society if you dont like it??? muslims like you are the reason the whole muslim nation is backward

  3. neo says:
    May 16th, 2007 8:17 am

    Jawad Habib, showing some skin is ok to you right? u use phrases like freedom of expression to justify this. how ironic that the flagbearers of this “modern” thought of freedom themselves dont allow such freedoms?: frace doesnt allow hijab, britan and usa dont allow public nudity. where is the border drawn between indecency and acceptable skin-showing?? and who draws this line??? people?? people who dont know whats right and wrong? the same people who elect idiots like bush in usa and mqm in karachi???

    grow up.

  4. Qurat ul ain says:
    May 16th, 2007 2:11 am

    sad society with ‘how women dress up’ as its ‘central’ concern. please come out of it.

  5. Adnan says:
    May 16th, 2007 12:38 am

    Nice Ad! Really liked it

  6. Sami says:
    May 15th, 2007 5:05 pm

    Hey guys and gals,
    This is troubling me for quite some time. Can anyone answer? Here’s the question….

    WHY DID OUR EARLIER GENERATION WANT A SEPARATE COUNTRY? WERE’NT WE BETTER OFF IN THE UNITED STATES OF INDIA?

  7. May 6th, 2007 5:51 pm

    the ad looks quite recent not of 1960’s
    and about what should one wear or not
    islamically not
    but i think instead of wasting our energies what girls should wear or not
    its upto them
    one should tell them what we think but not force them

  8. Bilal Zubairi says:
    May 5th, 2007 7:06 am

    Word for Ms.Saba.. that our preconceived notions of this scene are so powerful that our mind blocks out the incongruity and overrides our eyes.

Comment Pages: « 1817 16 15 14 [13] 12 11 10 91 »


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