Event Recap: Pakistan's Ambassador on Political Turmoil, Demographic Shifts and Persistent Stereotypes

Ambassador Briefing: Pakistan — Reaching for Reform

Jan. 31, 2025
Miller & Martin PLLC

During a stop in Atlanta for a conference of the Association of Pakistani Physicians in North America conference, new Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh joined Global Atlanta for a briefing with business and educational leaders.

The main thrust of his presentation? Pakistan can a bridge-builder in a new global economy that threatens fracture along lines of great powers like the U.S. and China. Shifting its focus from geo-politics to geo-economics, Pakistan will resist efforts to take sides and instead offer opportunities for all in a country that seeks to be a strong player in agriculture, minerals, technology and tourism.

For more, read our news story: Ambassador: Pakistan Can Be a ‘Bridge Builder’ in Time of Trade Turmoil

Key Takeaways:

Demographics: Dividend or Disaster?

As a young economist, Mr. Sheikh studied growing populations as the villain in what was then called “the Asian drama.” But now Pakistan’s tech-savvy youth are proving to be a key source of demand and dynamism in what is now the world’s fifth most populous country.

“Over the past 33 years, I have personally witnessed villain changing to hero.”

When challenged on the need to promote women’s rights, Mr. Sheikh conceded more work is to be done, especially to include women’s labor in the formal economy and offer access to capital and education, but he. contended that social indicators for women are trending in a positive direction overall:

“If you look at the newspapers periodically, any university result, any board of intermediate education, whatever education result that appears in the newspaper, the toppers are invariably women, so there is a social and cultural change that is creeping up.”

2. Downplaying political turmoil

Mr. Sheikh downplayed recent protests in the streets in support of ousted (and now sentenced) former Prime Minister Imran Khan. He pointed to democratic transfers over military coups since 1999, with a few common denominators after each election: The loser cries foul, then seeks redress in the streets instead of the courts.

“They have filed cases in court, but consciously decided to heat up the street, so seeking in judgment ins courts while heating up the street to draw political mileage and political advantage. This is the same in the current political situation in Pakistan.”

He went on:

“We are not perfect anyway. Nobody claims that. We are an evolving democracy. We are evolving in, again, in a particularly heavily securitized, turmoiled region of the world, in our own way. No claims to perfection, but claims to certainly an ascendant, a positive evolution.”

3. Fighting stereotypes through tourism

While news outlets portray Pakistan as a country of disgruntled militants, the ambassador described this Islamic republic as a land of hospitality, the birthplace of three religions and the home of holy sites from various faiths. Increased tourist visits to the country’s lush green meadows and dramatic Himalayan peaks can play a role in changing its image.

“We are not the kind of people that media portrays who are willing to fight at the drop of a hat. No, we are very peaceful people. We have existed for millennia. It could not have been done without tolerance.”