Pakistani students urged to improve country’s image

 

LONDON: Terming the Pakistani students studying in the UK as the ambassadors of their homeland, Pakistan envoy to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan has urged them to enhance the image of the motherland through exemplary deeds.

 

Delivering a public lecture on the role of Students in enhancing the image of Pakistan at the London School of Economics and Political Science as a part of the Pakistan Week Thursday evening, he spoke of the image problem of the country in the current international scenario and urged the students to debunk negative impression at every step.

 

He said the western media had been hostile to Pakistan ever since the 9/11 events and the students could correct the impression about the country by writing forcefully to the British media to counter this notion.

 

Hasan said he was thinking to reviving Pakistan Club at the High Commission which during his first tenure as the High Commissioner was an important forum for networking and boosting the image of the country. 

 

The High Commissioner said the role of students cannot be underestimated as they played a gigantic role in the creation of Pakistan through the All‑India Muslim Students Federation.

 

Wajid Shamsul Hasan praised the LSE Pakistan Society for organising the Pakistan Week and said such events also need to be organised by other Pakistan students studying in different institutions in UK.

 

He said the students graduating from LSE and other prestigious institutions of UK have gone to serve Pakistan in a commendable manner and contributed to nation building.

 

The High Commissioner spoke of the recent Mumbai incident and the attempts by India to bring bad name to Pakistan. He praised the British Government for pointing out Kashmir as the real cause of discontentment in the Indo‑Pakistan relations.

 

“Positive articles in the British media helped to tone down aggressive Indian stance and Pakistan’s position that it had no role in the Mumbai incident was accepted with sincerity,” he said.

 

He urged the students to project Pakistan as a moderate and progressive country as envisioned by Quaid‑e‑Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and avoid falling into the trap of obscurant and retrogressive forces.

 

Noting that education system in Pakistan was flawed, he said it needs to be revamped with emphasis on skill‑driven education rather than possessing meaningless graduate degrees.

 

He pointed out that in UK and elsewhere in Europe, the stress is on acquiring blue collar skills which provide greater employment opportunities and has more demand while lesser numbers go for university education. 

 

 LSE Pakistan Society President Saad Fahim welcomed the High Commissioner and explained the objectives of the society. A short film on Pakistan Week was also screened on the occasion.

 

 

APP - Feb 27, 2009