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Prime Minister Imran Khan says Pakistanis shouldn't be concerned about creating a "soft image" of their country only to win approval from the West, calling such a perception an "inferiority complex".
Addressing the launching ceremony of a documentary drama titled "Paani Ke Pankh" in Islamabad on Thursday, the premier said people should instead strive for being seen as an independent nation which has confidence in itself and does not have to rely on anyone for aid.
"I repeatedly hear that we need to present a soft image of Pakistan. What does a soft image mean? Why do we say this and if this soft image is established will the world consider us very good?
Analyse: Why soft power is pivotal
"We shouldn't fall into this kind of misunderstanding; this is an inferiority complex. When a nation loses its confidence it tries to please people," the prime minister emphasised.
He said people shouldn't plan their actions based on what Western countries would approve, citing the example of the vision of "enlightened moderation" introduced by former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf.
"We heard the term 'enlightened moderation' for the first time in our lives. Nobody knows what it means. Most people understood it that the more we resemble people in the West the more we will appear moderate. So people started speaking English and wearing Western clothes, and [thought] they had become moderate.
"Is this moderation? Please understand this is inferiority complex."
Prime Minister Imran said Pakistanis only had to promote one image: that of an independent nation standing on its feet which believes in itself, doesn't rely on anyone and doesn't take loans from or beg anyone.
"Only then does the world respect you," he said, stressing that a nation that was self-reliant and thought big held the true honour.
"So the nation shouldn't think we go around pleasing the world, presenting a soft image."
The prime minister reiterated that Pakistan had made a "mistake" by entering the US 'War on Terror'.
"We entered someone else's war which wasn't ours, we should've never joined it," he said, adding that Pakistan had first taken part in "glorifying jihad" in the 1980s and making the Mujahideen "heroes", and later pursued them as "terrorists" on instructions of the US after 9/11.
"So the country inevitably had to pay a heavy price for it."
In this context, the premier said, people "shouldn't think we need to present a soft image of ourselves because they (the West) started calling us 'terrorists'."
"You can never enter someone else's war, take benefits from them and not suffer for it," he stressed.
He said the potential in Pakistan was unmatched by any other country and the nation tended to "undersell" itself.
"Until our thinking remains that we can't do anything until someone from the outside gives us loans due to our soft image, we can't move forward."
Prime Minister Imran promised his government's "complete support" for the film industry to produce original documentaries and films.
He said there was a time when Pakistan Television's (PTV) dramas were watched across the border in India, adding that the once-thriving film industry had fallen behind because it "started copying cheap Indian films".
Addressing the launching ceremony of a documentary drama titled "Paani Ke Pankh" in Islamabad on Thursday, the premier said people should instead strive for being seen as an independent nation which has confidence in itself and does not have to rely on anyone for aid.
"I repeatedly hear that we need to present a soft image of Pakistan. What does a soft image mean? Why do we say this and if this soft image is established will the world consider us very good?
Analyse: Why soft power is pivotal
"We shouldn't fall into this kind of misunderstanding; this is an inferiority complex. When a nation loses its confidence it tries to please people," the prime minister emphasised.
He said people shouldn't plan their actions based on what Western countries would approve, citing the example of the vision of "enlightened moderation" introduced by former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf.
"We heard the term 'enlightened moderation' for the first time in our lives. Nobody knows what it means. Most people understood it that the more we resemble people in the West the more we will appear moderate. So people started speaking English and wearing Western clothes, and [thought] they had become moderate.
"Is this moderation? Please understand this is inferiority complex."
Prime Minister Imran said Pakistanis only had to promote one image: that of an independent nation standing on its feet which believes in itself, doesn't rely on anyone and doesn't take loans from or beg anyone.
"Only then does the world respect you," he said, stressing that a nation that was self-reliant and thought big held the true honour.
"So the nation shouldn't think we go around pleasing the world, presenting a soft image."
The prime minister reiterated that Pakistan had made a "mistake" by entering the US 'War on Terror'.
"We entered someone else's war which wasn't ours, we should've never joined it," he said, adding that Pakistan had first taken part in "glorifying jihad" in the 1980s and making the Mujahideen "heroes", and later pursued them as "terrorists" on instructions of the US after 9/11.
"So the country inevitably had to pay a heavy price for it."
In this context, the premier said, people "shouldn't think we need to present a soft image of ourselves because they (the West) started calling us 'terrorists'."
"You can never enter someone else's war, take benefits from them and not suffer for it," he stressed.
He said the potential in Pakistan was unmatched by any other country and the nation tended to "undersell" itself.
"Until our thinking remains that we can't do anything until someone from the outside gives us loans due to our soft image, we can't move forward."
Prime Minister Imran promised his government's "complete support" for the film industry to produce original documentaries and films.
He said there was a time when Pakistan Television's (PTV) dramas were watched across the border in India, adding that the once-thriving film industry had fallen behind because it "started copying cheap Indian films".
Don't strive for 'soft image' of Pakistan only to please the West, PM Imran tells nation
"We shouldn't fall into this kind of misunderstanding; this is an inferiority complex," Imran Khan says.
www.dawn.com
