Gibbs
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If anyone cares to understand Pakistan's situation on the world forum, consider these gems I got from an ex-Australian diplomat. Let's call our Aussie friend, Mr X. Diplomats like Mr X form an opinion of the country based on such incidents and this opinion later informs Australia's foreign policy. As you will see, Australia considers Pakistani politicians, bureaucrats, and people to be a bunch of conniving thugs.
Mr X was sitting with a relative of someone in the top circles of PTI in a cafe, and the guy was boasting how he manipulated his own people. There is hundreds of acres of land in KP that he wanted to get his hands on. So he got a bunch of crooks to start harassing people, and when people complained about them he came forward as their savior. He offered to buy their land at half price and give them lease for the next 50 years. In turn, he would save them from the crooks. Mr X says I was sitting there staring at this person, and I was thinking 'If this is what he does to his own countrymen, what would he do to me?'
Then there are instances where Australian business tried to acquire land, and for each piece of land twenty people came up as claimants. I asked Mr X, don't you find similar problems elsewhere? He said they faced the exact same problem in far flung PNG. There, they started a system of keeping records of claims. This will reveal if anyone changes their claims over time. By their estimate, it will take 100 years before all the claims can be sorted out. They are happy to wait that period out.
Similarly, one of the female friends of Mr X wanted to rent an apartment from someone, but wasn't sure what kind of person he was. That relative of the corrupt politician (discussed earlier) got in touch with ISI (per Mr X's claims) and produced a thick file on that person. He tells me he was impressed by the amount of information ISI keeps on an ordinary citizen, but also appalled at how carelessly this information is treated. I personally think Mr. X doesn't understand the workings of Pakistani intelligence, and may have confused IB with ISI. In any case, the damage to perception is done.
This same female friend was having problems getting her bond back for the apartment she rented. Again, Mr X came to the rescue. The relative of the corrupt politician sent vehicles full of 30 men armed with AK-47s while Mr X was in the presence of the landlord. The men simply saluted Mr. X and asked if he needed any help, to which Mr. X replied in negative. Scared by what he saw, the landlord immediately released the bond. I have, with my own two eyes and two ears, seen and heard Mr. X laughing his head off on the streets of Sydney saying 'In Pakistan, on my single instruction, thirty armed men answered the call!' This is heard by passers-by who definitely form a poor opinion of Pakistan.
These are examples of how Pakistan's image is systematically destroyed. This is the real reason why our foreign policy is such a failure. Mr X is an ordinary citizen of Australia who stands in line in the supermarket and pays taxes like everyone else. When you treat him like a king and boast about your conniving thuggery in front of him, he forms a poor opinion of your country.
I exhort my readers to seek out foreign diplomats who have served in Pakistan, and ask their first hand opinions of Pakistan. Please don't get misled by interviews of German ambassador in the media. Wasn't it a German national who ran away with an entire plane of PIA and nothing could be done to him? You need to realize, my fellow Pakistanis, that we are a laughing stock in the world because of all this. People laugh on our backs. Mr X has been extremely kind to share these insights to which I was completely ignorant. His stories have helped me understand why the world treats Pakistanis the way it does. I really hope my fellow countrymen will wake up and see how our leadership, our politicians, and our bureaucrats are destroying our prestige and our standing in the world.
Same can be said of all the countries in South Asia