Abstract:

In order to fully understand the impact of international news on Pakistan as a state, society, culture and nation, it is essential to understand the manner in which electronic media has been managed efficiently by states to project a progressive global image across region and beyond. In the backdrop this paper aims at focusing role of electronic media in projecting international image of a state: issues of Pakistan’s international image-hindsight comparison with region and globe.

Key Words

Role of Electronic Media, Projecting International Image, Pakistan, Hindsight Comparison, Region, Globe

Introduction

The media can play many roles in society, particularly in international affairs, we see that India has successfully used its media to harness soft power in the world, with the export of their filmographic material, their singers and actors, they have entrenched themselves in international media. They begin to export their cultural values, their traditions, and their profits skyrocket, their small businesses related to food and apparel benefit in form of sales, and their economy benefits in the form of trade deals, and visas for workers who become a source of remittance. They improve their industry, education, and economy all with the help of their own national digital and social media and the export of this soft power. India has improved and strengthened its global image and the way it is seen in the international media. As discussed earlier, Pakistan and India have a shared history. This means that many of the problems that exist in Pakistan also exist in India, and yet, India is known for numerous things other than its problems. It is a very booming tourist destination and is considered to be one of the most exotic places in the world because foreigners are simply astounded by its culture. A culture that is very similar to the culture in Pakistan. 

India’s Electronic Media Management to Project Global Image: A Perspective from Region  

A very recent short video documentary about India, made by The Economist, began by referring to India as “the world’s biggest democracy”. (The Economist, 2019) India has constantly focused on its national image and consciously presented the global world with the narrative and perception it wishes to be projected by its country. While the reality may differ, India’s entertainment and news media has made a constructive effort to propagate only an extremely forward, liberal and secular image of India. Even in this The Economist video, the image shown after the first few seconds is that of a girl riding a bike along the streets of India. This helps India portray the image of a liberal society where it is safe and common for a woman to be riding a bike in the street. In any international documentary, Pakistan would never be represented in such a way. It would, instead, be represented through burkha-clad women trying to walk down the streets. Even if Pakistan’s image were ever represented in such a manner, our very own public would fight tooth and nail to have such a notion dispelled. Therein lies the greatest difference, India has separated state from religion and has done so in an extremely public manner.  Pakistan, until this very day, has its own identity so heavily confused because it has been unable to disconnect the state from the religion. 

This at global level results in a biased view of the country that it supports and welcomes only Muslims and anything slightly going against it will be accounted for. This is an underrated yet very powerful and real reason for Pakistan’s image. The fact that most of the nation is unable to recognize this as a problem is a much bigger problem in itself. The lack of formal education has made most Pakistani’s ignorant when it comes to its image.

India has focused on propagating an image of the country as secular, extremely educated, economically sound and a place of equal rights for all. (BBC South Asia, 2019) It has done this by using its own media to show an image of the country that agrees with all these attributes. It has ensured that it has complete control over the narrative and carefully constructed its own national branding, which is very similar to how a brand creates its brand identity for the purpose of successful marketing. India has the seventh strongest economy in the world, while Pakistan does not even make it to the top 100 list. Having a strong economy also means better trade relations with other countries, being a more suitable location for business by many investors which has a greater impact in the international sphere. Regardless of the countless issues which need to be raised in India and the numerous faults within Indian society, the Indian media and Indian media-people always focus on the extremely positive side of India when they need to represent their country internationally. This ensures that the only image the international community sees of India is one of a liberal democracy that is both secular, economically sound and a place that is tolerant towards all religions, all people and all cultures. This may be far from the truth but it is the exact global image India has so successfully created for itself. This is an excellent approach for India itself. They yield the benefits from it also, right now; India is seen as a better, stronger and united nation in the Asian region. This aspect lacks in Pakistan’s media, they also need to collaborate and work on an overall global image while delivering the news. This is done by almost every country that has a positive image in the world. 

It is significant to focus on India’s global image and international presence, specifically, because India is not only our neighbor – but because India has also begun its journey at the same time as us. However, India has reached a level of respect and positivity in the world which Pakistan can only yearn for right now. The following is India’s personal plan for its global image and it seems to be following through with it – to the dot.

Generally, countries try to focus on replicating the formats of development, but they wind up with a parallel decision between Western vote based system, which is ill-suited for profoundly plural and socially stratified social orders, and despotic frameworks that have no place for individual opportunity. 

India, then again has "developed as a scaffold between the numerous limits of the world", as previous Prime Minister Manmohan Singh once commented. India's plural and composite culture, he stated, was "living evidence of the likelihood of a conjunction of human advancements". (Gupta, A. 2013) The worldwide 2030 advancement plan, generally, should be an account of India's household financial change and of its barrier of assorted variety and majority rule government. (Envisioning India 2030, (2018)

Second and most importantly, according to Modi, Delhi must guarantee authority over the worldwide improvement plan. It merits bringing up that India sits at the crossing point of the world's two most elements locales, Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific. The report also goes on to clarify that the most significant part of this added money will be used for adding and improving the resources being given to these locals. A report such as this being published and made public for the international media shows India’s extremely mature hold on economy and a vision that is notable in improving the country’s global image. (Envisioning India 2030, (2018)

About two decades later, the basic moment for India to address these disappointments is considerably more noteworthy. The spread of data correspondence advances and worldwide supply chains suggests that organizations and common society must be made equivalent partners if India is to build up its own remarkable agreement. Not exclusively will this add more noteworthy authenticity to India's recommendation, it will likewise make characteristic and grassroots victors for the nation around the globe. This means that India has even improved its already shining global image in the international world. As neighboring countries, we are fully aware of all the atrocities that take place within India. Nonetheless, it has successfully empowered its media enough to create and propagate an image of a country that is both progressive and secular. 

Indian Media projects that since the end of Second World War, it be seen as a country that is careful about the nations it strengthens ties with and it has gradually recognized itself as one of the leading game-changing countries of an entire region of the world. It is in a situation to shape the agenda of, perhaps, Asia. India is home to one-6th of the worldwide populace and has continued a remarkable fair ethos and an international strategy that is characterized by national enthusiasm as well as by solidarity with the creating scene. (Lopez, G. 2019)

Similarly, what India has done is make use of its rich history and architecture to become a part of its image. It has also helped promote its entertainment industry, Bollywood, very heavily and to such an extent that certain Bollywood actresses and actors are now invited to Hollywood movie awards such as Cannes and the Met Gala. This fusion of culture with networking and promoting entertainment has ensured for India a position of power, strength and recognition. 

International Image of States and Electronic Media Management in Global Perspective i) The Case of New Zealand: Post Christchurch Media Management

An extremely fitting example of this is the recent attack on two mosques, which took place in New Zealand on March 15, 2019. The manner in which the country dealt with the attack spoke volumes. However, it was not only that. It was also the way in which the entire print and electronic media aligned to put forth the exact same narrative – that New Zealand was a country for people of all cultures and all religions and such violence and hatred would absolutely not be tolerated. It is important to note that the media did not try to brush off the story; neither did any of the politicians or spokespersons who were being interviewed. On the contrary, they spent hours and hours giving coverage to how the Muslim families were coping, they talked about every single individual who was killed in the attack and they showed how the communities, all over the country, had come together to help safeguard the Muslim community and assure them that they were all one and the same – citizens of New Zealand and humans, before anything else. Within a matter of days, the Prime Minister of the country, Jacinda Ardern, announced that New Zealand would have much more strict gun laws to ensure nothing like this ever happened again.( Graf, R. 2018) In a manner as swift as this, New Zealand branded itself as a country that stood up against white supremacism, bigotry, xenophobia and had absolutely no tolerance for hate crimes. This is one recent example of how a country and its media plays a role in creating a national branding. It also shows that national branding can easily be changed at any time. While it is not simply a swing of the wand, it is still possible to change a country’s image with the manner in which it reacts to a certain incident and event and how the media of the country chooses to cover it and show it to the world. 

ii) United States of America: Trump Administration   

A country’s image, which is created through national branding, is also extremely powerful. For this, we can take the example of the United States of America. Even though the president is now Donald Trump – a man who is known for being a savage capitalist, a sexist, xenophobic individual who is both incapable of running a country and has little regard for human life – the United States of America is still seen as a country that holds human values above all else, it is still considered to be a melting pot of cultures and various ethnicities and it is still considered to be the country that holds the answers to everyone’s dreams. The national identity and branding of the United States of America is very closely linked to the “American Dream”, which is basically the idea that anyone from any part of the world can find prosperity, wealth and a rewarding lifestyle in the United States of America. Regardless of the disparity between the rich and the poor in the country and the unfair taxing system that keeps a poor person poor while a rich man gets richer and the depleting condition of the healthcare and education system, the country of America still maintains its branding of being a country where everyone is welcome and everyone finds whatever they come looking for. Since the branding remains, people from all over the world still pay extremely high amounts of money in order to get an immigration in to the country. At the time being, one simply needs to take a long look at Trump and the extreme right in the U.S., or the Islamophobic babble being regurgitated by the political right in the West. All in all, if the West can conceal its settler’s wars of animosity, bigotry, financial abuse behind the turn of human rights and opportunity, then we can also learn to do the same. Clearly, we also could extend a picture of a tolerant, comprehensive, quiet, powerful society, without messing with, for example, changing unfair laws against, ladies and minorities; or completion support of the religious right; or denying fundamental rights to life and freedom to our very own natives.

iii) The Case of United Kingdom

The United Kingdom, for example, quickly became hated from being the biggest colonizer in the world. Once slavery and other concepts of colonization were dismantled and eradicated, this global image became troublesome for the country. As a response to this, the United Kingdom formed the British Council in 1934. The sole purpose of this institution was to promote British culture and British traditions to people in over 110 countries, all over the world. It was, in effect, a long term method of improving the image of the United Kingdom in the way it was seen by the rest of the world. (British Council)

iv) Japan’s Media Management Strategy 

Similarly, Japan’s image becomes greatly deteriorated in front of the global community after World War-II. Since Japan was responsible for many of the cruel incidents that took place in World War Two, it was imminent that it repairs that damage done to its global image or risk being an outcast from all global forums. What Japan sought to do was execute a long term strategy in which it introduced democracy, chose a market economy method and levied various constitutional limitations on military use within the country. This strategy, although it took a significant amount of time, was so effective that Japan is now one of the top three most powerful economies in the world. (BBC News. 2021)

These were few examples of how quickly a certain national image and identity can be created for a country and how important it can become for a country, if it is branded in the correct manner and consistently portrayed to the rest of the world. 

Issues of Pakistan’s International Image: Hindsight Comparison with Region and Globe

The very first step is to understand the preconceptions about Pakistan as a country. The image of Pakistan suffers very badly in international light and this may be due to historic events – some of which actually occurred and some of which were manipulated to suit a certain narrative. However, it does not help that Pakistan’s media, itself, has not done much good in redeeming Pakistan’s image in any way. 

Pakistan is seen as a country which consists of an ignorant and backward society and has extremely bad governance. There is little doubt that Pakistan is currently an underdeveloped country which has a majority of illiterate population and a low literacy rate. As a state, it suffers from an economy that is unstable, poverty which is widespread, an overall lack of law and order, an extremely low literacy rate, a religiously dogmatic influence. Added to this is the burden of constant and rampant corruption by most of the people in positions of power. As an underdeveloped or developing country, these issues are rather signature of any country that is still underdeveloped. And while most countries that become immersed in such issues find it nearly impossible to break away from the cycle of bad governance, poverty and corruption, very few ever successfully push away and head over to becoming developed countries. From an overview of the country, there seems little home for Pakistan and it does seem to consistently be heading towards doom. However, if one were to honestly judge the situation of Pakistan as a state, it has come extremely far along if it were compared to fifty or sixty years. With a beginning as financially and politically unstable as Pakistan’s, the feats it has conquered in the past years are rather exceptional. In most cases, Pakistan is compared to India and India has a very similar history to Pakistan but is now economically and politically stronger than Pakistan. However, when making such a comparison, it is ignored that India, as a state and country, receives a lot more sympathy than Pakistan, especially in the international media. Due to India’s stance as a democratic and secular state, it is consistently offered a certain edge over Pakistan which greatly affects at least the economic situation of the two countries since their international image is not the same – not on any account. 

Another part of Pakistan’s international image is that it is a country and state that holds on to very extremist religious ideologies, as do most Pakistanis. One of the greatest reasons Pakistan’s image got tarnished, internationally, is due to the fact that it is seen as a country and population that sympathizes with religiously extremist organizations and that the state either supports such organizations or does nothing to try and control them. It is seen as an unsafe country to visit after 9/11 because it is seen as a suspect in the global war against terror. 

However, the problem with this preconception is that extremism, especially religious extremism, is not a problem that began in Pakistan and it was not created here. It was a problem which was introduced in Pakistan through the Afghan militants after the Soviet War, when Pakistan opened up its borders to the Afghan fighters because they were fighting against the Soviet power. It is essential to understand, in this situation, that a lot of international money was given to Pakistan in order to enable the country to support the Afghan fighters in toppling the Soviet regime. Due to the large donations, it became extremely difficult to control the situation once the war was over as there was no proper exit plan. Once the war finally reached an end, the rest of the problems which had occurred due to the war were simply ignored and overlooked. For the rest of the world, the war was over, a new super power emerged and the world went on. However, for Pakistan, the problems which stemmed from that war affect the country until this very day. The unchecked drugs, arms and extremism that came along with the war in to this country have done nothing except create unsolvable problems for Pakistan, as a state. Therefore, in this case, it is rather unfair to treat Pakistan for a problem which was actually laden on to it. 

The observation that Pakistan needs believability inside the worldwide network is a typical one among examiners and scholastics exploring and analyzing the region.

A review set out to analyze the nature and causes of such negative perspectives about Pakistan. Individuals from the Foreign Service Program class of 2016 at the University of Oxford, for the most part contained negotiators from everywhere throughout the world were asked 'what three things strike a chord when you catch wind of Pakistan?' most of respondents referred to atomic weapons, psychological oppression, security, Islam, and the Taliban, loaning backing to the general perspective on Pakistan as a mobilized state engaged with Islamic radicalism. 

Pakistan has paid a colossal cost for being the bleeding edge state in the war on dread. It lost around 80,000 lives (50,000 regular people, 6,000 security individual and 27,000 activists) during the US-drove 'war on dread' somewhere in the range of 2004 and 2013. But in spite of its penances, Pakistan is seen by the West as a misleading partner that boldly advances Islamic radicalism. 

Pakistan faces gigantic difficulties, extending from a lopsided economy, delicate administration and security to wild fear mongering. Yet, maybe its most prominent test is to reestablish its believability according to the world. The foundation's efforts to extend a positive picture of the nation have had little effect. The question that then emerges is whether Pakistan's government and administration comprehends the main crux of the issue. In Foucault's expression, the world's view of Pakistan "have been made; they can be unmade, as long as we probably are aware how it was that they were made." The procedure must start by finding how these discernments came to into being and then at that point, when we know how they were made, we can continue on to unmake them 

Most nations are, in any event and to some extent, built or defeated by the idea of their international strategy. Pakistan's international strategy is to a great extent a component of its national security regulation, which has always had an apparent danger from India at its center. International strategy is in this manner driven by goals explained and characterized by the necessities of national security. 

The security account, comprehensively, embraces a unitary point of view toward the world, organizing one country, one vision and only one type of culture that may exist within this country. Opposing this unitary methodology or declining to comply with it, prompts quick criticism. It is a procedure that undermines pluralist society and demoralizes the projection of a nuanced, reasonable image of the nation. It irons out decent variety and requires similarity. In such a way, it portrays to the international media the image of a country that will forever be stuck in backwards ideas, ideologies and ambiguities. 

Since Pakistan has become a nuclear power, it is seen a threat to international security. However, considering the situation in which Pakistan came in to being, it was rather essential for it to have nuclear weapons as a means of self-defense. Furthermore, Pakistan is not the only nuclear power in the world and neither was it the first. There are several other countries in the world, including India and United States of America, which have nuclear weapons and are not demonized as being a threat to international security. 

In most cases, Pakistan is viewed as a country which has very little or no regard for human rights, especially not the rights of women. It is seen as a country where life is so miserable for the average person that they consistently find themselves having to fight for the most basic of things such as education. This, in itself, is an entirely new topic. However, while Pakistan has numerable issues when it comes to human rights and women rights, there is no doubt that the situation has drastically changed in favor of rights for all. Especially, for women, the situation has drastically improved for women in most parts of the country. The passing of bills such as the Cyber Bill and the Protection against Domestic Violence. These may be extremely small steps but they show a change of ways and thought and ideology. Furthermore, the situation in the country is not actually as terrible as the international media depicts it. 

The next, most important question to ask at this point is whether an international image actually affects the state of Pakistan and if so, then to what extent. 

There are several things that greatly affects a state’s relationship with other states and countries, ¬especially in the world today where political influence and diplomatic relationships can either make or break the existence of a country. The components of these are both tangible, such as trade, economy etc., and intangible, such as the image or perception of a country. The reason this plays such a great role in the state’s political and diplomatic relationships is because the image of the country is all anyone from the outside actually sees. What the reality of a country is, plays a very minimal role in this as compared to the manner in which the country is perceived by the outside/international world. A country like Pakistan, for example, has constantly gone through economic ups and downs mostly due to political turmoil in the country. There has been very little and limited economic stability. During such a crisis, the country needs foreign investors to seek business and growth opportunities in the country and bring in foreign investment, which helps a country’s economy tremendously. Unfortunately, along with the political turmoil and economic turbulence, Pakistan also has a negative image in the international world. This perception of a backward place rife with sectarian violence, terrorists and support for terrorism, minimal human and women rights and a nuclear power, at that, makes it an extremely unpleasant choice for foreign investors to even consider investing their money in. On the other hand, a country like India, which is perceived to be a multi-cultural “melting pot”, secular and economically stable, is a much more appealing investment opportunity for any foreign investors.  

Regardless of the accentuation on security and safety, Pakistan has not had the option to accomplish the key association with the West, especially with the USA, that it pines for. Endeavors have been made to make the relationship a key one, yet it stays, best case scenario value-based and strategic.

Similarly, trade is also greatly affected by this image and perception of a country. Developing nations prefer developing trade relations with countries that are seen in a positive light by the rest of the world as it helps them gain a better foothold in the international community. Developed nations, on the other hand, are extremely cautious about not developing trade relations with countries that have a negative image as they face a lot of backlash from their own citizens as well as other developed nations with whom they already have strong trade relations. In an international climate where terrorism and violence is seen as the most tabooed crimes, it is only accurate to say that Pakistan is still remembered as the country from where Bin Laden was found and, as such, is not seen as a top contender in trade relations with either developed or developing countries. It is, perhaps, for this reason that Pakistan has still been unable to find much economic stability even though, there are several economic policies in Pakistan which actually work towards economic growth. 

It is essential to remember that when we talk or refer to a country’s image we are talking on a much broader perspective. The word image covers attractiveness, foreign affairs, traditions, economic and various other political aspects. The idea which is associated by the general public is the county’s image. For Example, Netherland is usually associated with windmills is a general image of the country. The image might be or might not be true of the country but it reflects the country and whether directly or indirectly has a socio-economic impact on the country. Unlike GDP (mechanism to measure growth/greatness), we do not have any specific criteria to measure a country’s image. Hence, there are many external & internal factors which accumulates and form a country’s image. Internal factors may include the national media, lack of political & economic stability & the failures of democracy in the past. External factors can consist of post- 9/11, war on terror, Kashmir clashes with neighbor country India and the influence of Bollywood Industry.

Pakistan’s image globally is facing a serious concern regardless the fact that Pakistan is a part of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Globally, Pakistan has had a negative perception from the world. The word image relies on the perception of the general public. So, when the word ‘Pakistan’ is heard by a layman in the western world it is more often related with danger, terrorism & militarization. Despite all the effort done by the state, image of Pakistan has suffered in the past. The country’s image has suffered a lot and Pakistan is still struggling to fix that. Pakistan has faced an identity crisis. The military and political elite has defined in a way which highlights Islam above all else. (Khan, I. 2017) 

When it comes to Pakistan the public thinks of a country where public places are bombed often, terrorists are easily living and a Nobel peace prize winner was shot.  The image has a direct relationship when it comes to foreign relations with other developed nations. Pakistan has been in existence for 72 years and yet have failed to move out of the categorization of third world nations and has lacked proper relations with the developed countries. Many developed nations look for investing in developing nations because of the different economies of scales that a developing country provides. Pakistan has a rich land full of natural resources yet developed countries have been reluctant to form partnership with Pakistan. Multinationals have backed off due to the political instability, currency fluctuations and overall law & order situation of the country. Pakistan alone has lost more than $123.1 Billion dollars on war on terror. (Karim, S., & Hayat, U. 2019) For a developing nation, this can be a major setback. The image of Pakistan has been perceived in a way that developed countries are in contact with Pakistan because of its nuclear capabilities otherwise there would be no relationship at all. Most of the tourism comes from these developed nations. Perhaps this is the most effected industry by the formed image of Pakistan. Post 9-11, once the war on terror started the tourism had almost dried up and the terror attack on Sri-Lankan cricket team in 2009 was enough to put a full stop on the tourism industry. Since then, with the passage of time, Pakistan has slowly started to make its way back and has begun attracting tourists again through influencers and global bloggers. Coming towards the instability of the currency and political situation has driven away multinationals to invest in Pakistan. Most of the time Pakistan has found itself in situation which reflects poorly in the global media such as dissolution of the government, civil disobedience and the constant deficit in the balance of trade. Pakistan has also found itself in FATF’s (Financial Action Task Force) grey list once again. This list basically highlights the countries not doing enough to stop money laundering and terrorist financing. If corrective measures are not taken by the country, it might end up in the grey list again. Such aspects directly influence how the country’s image is perceived. The Pakistani state constantly find themselves in tough situations when dealing with developed country. Pakistan needs good relation with developed nations as they are the ones with huge number of imports and these countries help in trade. The extremely poor image of Pakistan puts the state in a weaker spot when it comes to negotiations and more often than not they have to give in to unreasonable demands of the developed nations. This leads to exploitation as Pakistan when going in any particular negotiation whether for a loan or trade is already in a weaker spot then they should be. (Hussain, I. 2018)

The connection between the administration of Pakistan and the international media has been risky and rocky, without a doubt. The spread of internet based life has undermined the administration's ability to see all the data that is being shared from Pakistan to the outside world. The state may keep on threatening nearby Pakistani media associations, however this is immediately gotten by the worldwide media, through their journalists' nearby ties with neighborhood media houses. Every piece of the news that seems daunting or terrible for the Pakistani media finds a way of reaching the international media and then causes speculation over the life being provided to citizens living within Pakistan. Pakistani authorities are persuaded that the global media center around negative parts of Pakistan and have a biased mentality that negative stories on Pakistan sell better. There might be some reality to this contention. Yet, the administration’s fixation on this idea can actually be the underlying drivers of the reason authentic issues are not tended to, further harming the nation's image.

There is a developing agreement against Pakistan in the worldwide research organization industry of Western nations. There is an earnest need to address this. However, the overarching patriotism in Pakistan, barely characterized and lacking profundity or nuance, advances a sense of bigotry and shuts down the beginning of basic discussion in the nation. Scholastics and different individuals from the intellectual elite who side with the view of the international media and other organizations, in this matter, are marked unfaithful or hostile to state. It seems that the country just cannot perceive that basic reasoning is a vital and advantageous element of scholastic discussion. It fails to recognize that scholastics who scrutinize certain aspects of the country and policy are really only doing as such for the prosperity of society and all together for the state to perform better. They are, actually, a long way from unpatriotic.

Pakistan has a lot of potential when it comes to forming relationships with developed countries as it has naturally rich lands which they can mutually benefit from. However, changing a perception of a single person regarding any particular thing takes time and when it comes at a macro level it will take much longer. Pakistan will need to put constant effort in that so they can at-least portray themselves as a country which is stable so that developed countries can see the  opportunity it presents. The pact of CPEC that Pakistan has signed with China has helped improved the image of Pakistan globally. 

The ‘China Pakistan Economic Corridor’, is a route to be built between Pakistan and China of approximately 3,218 KM that will consist of highways, rail and pipelines. It will go through Gilgit which will eventually connect Xinjiang through the Gawadar port. It will not only be advantageous for Pakistan but it will connect China to its Asian markets and more. It will reduce the distance covered by China for its exports and will able to show the world that Pakistan is a safe country to make this nature of deals with. This will improve the image of Pakistan among other developed nations or multinationals which are reluctant at the moment. The pact (CPEC) will present an opportunity for Pakistani Tourism industry as well and it can significantly enhance the image of the country. The route will cover several mountainous peaks such as the K2 and Nanga Parbat. The fact that China is investing so much amount of money and time with Pakistan will surely bring an improvement to the negative image of Pakistan. Also, it will likely attract a lot of nations which are willing to invest because of the route’s advantages. It can easily become a medium for countries like Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka and Iran etc. If more countries are interested in using the Gawadar’s port than eventually they will contribute in portraying a much better and improved image of Pakistan. That is if the government of Pakistan is cautious and handles in well. Not only CPEC will be beneficial in terms of the global   image. It will provide economic opportunities for Pakistanis to improve their economic growth. The region of Baltistan is recognized for its fruits such as cherries and apples. The route will go through Baltistan thus providing a new business opportunity for numerous other traders. Sales will go up with minimal transportation costs. (Correspondent, O. 2019) 

The project of CPEC also plans to provide a motorway for Lahore & Karachi, Karakoram highway to be remade and railways to improve. In simple terms improving the overall infrastructure of Pakistan. Middle East can use the famous Gwadar port to export their oil and it will link several countries to China and Pakistan. Pakistan can eventually gain a lot of economic advantage through this. Even by looking at such a project, one can simply conclude it will boost opportunities for Pakistan’s industry in many different ways. One prime aspect to CPEC which will enhance the struggling economy of Pakistan is that energy crisis will be covered. Pakistan will eventually no longer face energy shortfalls which have affected most important industries in the Past such as textiles. 

However, even if we see the straight up benefits laid by CPEC, the Pakistan government and its bodies still seriously need to access the situation and make planned decisions accordingly. It is a given that such a huge project does not undergo in a country without effecting its external debt requirements. The government and the private sector will need to collaborate and make sure they are yielding more revenue against its costs. Most critics argue that it might as well be a trap for Pakistan and eventually China will repeat the same thing they did in Hambantota port in Sri Lanka. They might just be here to colonize Pakistan. However, this does seem farfetched as of now as almost 70 percent of the total committed amount will be coming towards Pakistan in the form of Foreign Direct Investment whereas the IPP policy of the government will be followed by the Chinese companies. Moreover, Pakistan also has to understand China’s point of view in order to minimize the risks involved. With all the analyzing and comparison of China with the previously colonizing tactics of the East India Company. What needs to be done is that the government of Pakistan needs to sit with the Chinese representatives and make sure their issues are catered too and also see what Chinese actually want from the economic and trade situation as well. The established Chinese have already shown concerns regarding all the concerns and negative thoughts. So it is too early to say how Pakistan’s economy will be affected by it. If governed and controlled properly, CPEC might just turn out to be the great success story Pakistan has been waiting for and is in such desperate need of. The international image of Pakistan has, no doubt, improved globally.  

However, a lot needs to be done before one can actually say Pakistan has a positive image in the overall global and international media. Once, the phases of CPEC which are in progress turn out to be successful and there set of the world will actually see China benefitting at a global level. At that point, maybe Pakistan will able to get a fast track in improving its image. The near future holds promising results for Pakistan but that is if the Pakistani nation works together on it and address its internal issues timely. But at the exact same time it is too early to conclude things for Pakistan since in their cent past Pakistan has faced backlash and country has suffered due to problems such as corruption, media and instability. 

There are a few things that significantly influences a state's association with different states and nations, - particularly in the international world today, where political impact and strategic connections can both represent the moment of truth and determine the actual presence of a nation. The major aspects of these are both unmistakable, for example, exchange, economy and so on. And impalpable, for example, the actual picture or impression of a nation. The actual reason this holds such immense importance in the current state's political and discretionary connections is on the grounds that there al picture of the nation or country is all anybody from the outside really observes. What the truth of a nation is assumes a negligible position in this respect when contrasted with the way where the nation is seen by the outside world. A nation like Pakistan, for instance, has continually experienced financial good and bad times most of the time because of political strife in the nation. 

There has been near to none, or very restricted monetary soundness. During such an emergency, the  nation needs outside financial investors to look for business and development openings in the nation or invest in other remote ventures to help with the nation's economy immensely. Since the current situation of the country is not supporting such an investment from other developed or developing countries, the economic situation of the country is constantly on the decline. The global image of the country impacts the economic growth of the country and the declining economic growth then adversely affects the global image of the country. Therefore, this is an extremely vicious circle which a country needs to break out of in order to truly improve its international or global image. 

Pakistan's current method of international strategy, driven exclusively apparent outside dangers and other seemingly nonsense controversies, is illogical. It must immediately reclassify its national advantages to incorporate issues, for example, social and financial welfare. The present international view of national security is extremely meek, in that it appears to the outside world as if Pakistan has no national security. This negative global image needs to be replaced by one that grasps the requirements of human improvement as the premise of national and international strategies. Having an informed, solid work power with well-prepared HR for the future monetary development of Pakistan is imperative. All in all, for this nation to thrive in the entirety of its unpredictability, all together for a more nuanced, increasingly sensible global image of Pakistan to rise, the military must make a stride back. The government and administration must enable the nation to encounter and assess a scope of qualities and values that are currently not present anywhere in the country. If it so happens that  the government  continues attempting to extend the twisted qualities it has so far upheld, it will further settle in Pakistan's negative image abroad and harm its validity considerably further.

However, a lot needs to be done before one can actually say Pakistan has a positive image in the global and international media. The next few chapters will discuss exactly what caused image to be as distorted as it is today and what Pakistan, as a country and state, can do in order to change the  narrative and perception and help turn this negative image in to  something positive and favorable for the  country. 

This constant negative and deteriorating global image is the cause for much of the difficulty Pakistan faces in terms of developing sound trade relations with developing countries, developing strong economic and trade ties with many countries and this is what prevents Pakistan from becoming the tourism hub it has the potential to become. Let’s not forget that the North of Pakistan is extremely astounding and has one of the highest mountain ranges in the world. These places can very easily become a booming tourist location if Pakistan is, somehow, able to repair the damage done to its global image. Pakistan has a lot to offer the world in terms of tourism, export, trade and even economics. The travel industry which as of now makes up a deficient piece of our profit is accepted to be raised by opening of this monetary passageway. The CPEC, some accept, will likewise help the travel industry in the 73,000 square km area. The district is viewed as a mountain dweller's heaven, since it is home to five of the 'eight-thousands' (tops over 8,000 meters), just as in excess of 50 mountains more than 7,000 meters. It is likewise home to the world's second most elevated pinnacle K2 and the Nanga Parbat. (Koblin, J. (2016)

The only aspect that is preventing Pakistan from taking that step forward and moving in line with other are developed nations of the world is its global image. The  country needs to, once again, be seen as a beautiful piece of land that has mountains, deserts, rivers and minerals as well as one of the  richest, and most diverse, histories of the world. It is especially significant to talk about how Pakistan and its people are seen through Hollywood movies or other Western show-biz because that is, in reality, how the global and International image of Pakistan is made and seen. As discussed earlier, a country’s perception has to do with how other people see that country. 

Conclusion

This means that it is closely linked to how the general public of the international community views Pakistan and while the general news are an important source of information for the masses and general public, so are movies and TV shows. According to a Nielson report in 2017, the average American adult spends 5 hours and 4 minutes watching television every single day. This equals to over 35 hours a week and it means that whatever they watch on television very quickly becomes a part of their perception of reality – regardless of whether it is actually true or not. 

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