Lahore attack hits both cricket industry, Pakistan
KARACHI: Synergy Advertising Managing Director Ahmed Kapadia has said that the recent attack on the Lankan cricket team has billed Pakistan as a terrorist state and it would be remembered for a long time.
He said the Lahore attack will not only cause a deep impact on the cricket industry but Pakistan as a whole for each time the country tries to move forward and work on its tarnished image, deadly terrorist acts push the nation back to where it started from.
The Corporate Communication Department of Sui Southern Gas Company launched Sui Southern Interactive Forum (SSIF) to provide its management and employees an opportunity for debate and discussion with experts from different walks of life.
The launching ceremony was held at the company premises on Wednesday. Panelists at the forum were of the collective view that political instabilities throughout history of the country has damaged the image and hindered it from becoming a strong state. They held that repeated change of leadership, poor politics and weak law and order had led to Pakistan being branded a terrorist nation.
Kapadia was of the view that to grapple with the issue of law and order and ‘re-brand’ Pakistan’s image, strong leadership is required to lead the nation at every level. He cited the example of City Nazim, Mustafa Kamal who has changed the map of Karachi through strong leadership and commitment.
Kapadia also identified education as an important tool towards improving the image of the country. He articulated that literacy helps to create more awareness amongst the people and aid them to choose the right leadership at the government stage which can eventually steer the country towards the right direction.
CEO, The Brand Partnership, Numan Nabi expressed that Pakistan has yet to brand itself and re- branding would follow only after the country can actually do first. He believed that citizens have yet to understand what Pakistan stands for before working towards creating that image. Nabi stressed the fact that commitment within every individual and at every level is very important.
Adeeba Khan, Chief Creative Officer, Manhattan Communications, said prior to 9/11 attacks, most Americans had not known where Pakistan was and some had never heard of it. However, after the 9/11 attacks, though Pakistan did become a well known country, it was for all wrong reasons, she continued. She commented that Pakistan retains amazing talent and rich resources but they have not been utilized properly mainly due to the political scenario of the country which did not encourage its people to move forward.
Pace Pvt Ltd CEO Imran Ahmad said media has done its part to disseminate knowledge to people and therefore they are better aware of the current situations. Ahmed stressed that it is essential to promote good things of the country across the world through the media in order to improve its image.
