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?
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.
what can i write
Hi Good Morning,
Evrey one How are you wish you happy life .
pleas pakistani good picter send my email thanks you my nam amir im 18year old studint beautifull boy living in dubai .
im wating for your reply anxiously,amirhussain6@yahoo.com
takecare Hav nic day
what, I ask, is this “true pakistan” you talk about? “Pakistan” is not some ossified entity or deity whose essence is violated because your sensibilities are violated. The nation and the culture are things that we construct through our actions and words.
This advert is indeed a reminder of how far we have come. We have descended to such depths that “our” culture and heritage finds offense in any depiction of feminine beauty; from here it takes only a few steps before one begins to protect women’s honor by pointing the barrel of the gun against their head.
im glad some one from us looked at it from a brighter perspective but PIA is our identity around the world and this so not us .altough i agree with earlier comment mariammade in favour of the advert i still fail to accept this image on PIA advert.
The image actually portrays two different sides for me. One that is of the positive and the other is of the negative. Keeping in mind the current situation of jihad and terrorism, this is a good image that needs to be show cased to be people; that may portray liberalization. On the other hand I see this image as the reason behind the loss of the heritage of Pakistan. When things like this will be portrayed where the image of Pakistan needs to go up, we will automatically lose out on what is really ours. Be that the traditional dress or the colors our flag!