IN her article ‘Heatwave revelations’ (July 2), Bina Shah has referred to an article, ‘How Pakistan beguiles the Americans: a guide for foreign officials’, by American scholar Christine Fair for the online journal War on the Rocks.

As an example, Fair is quoted on Pakistani generosity by her statement: “Whereas Indian ministry officials will serve you tea in a chipped mug embossed with a faded graphic of the ministry’s logo, Pakistani hosts will serve their guests coffee or tea in a mug … and they will even gift you with that mug.”

It is part of Pakistani hospitality that we serve our guests in our best china and silverware, however, humble the home. As far as gifting the mug is concerned, while an ulterior motive cannot always be ruled out, our generosity is also legendary.

An Indian film industry personality, whose name slips my mind, was so impressed that he observed: “If there were a Nobel Prize for hospitality, Pakistan would surely get it.” And Pakistan ranks at No.4 globally in philanthropy.

Pakistanis have had a better lifestyle than the Indians until the latter’s middle class really took off a couple of decades back.

I took the time to glance through Ms Fair’s lengthy article and was appalled to see how damaging it is for us.

It amazed me because the same lady had given testimony during a congressional hearing in 2011, in line with that of former Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, proffered while he was a senator in 2011, saying that India had over the years financed problems for Pakistan from areas across the border in Afghanistan (Dawn, Feb 27, 2013).

In 1971, President Nixon had said, “Pakistanis are straightforward and sometimes extremely stupid. Indians are more devious, sometimes so smart that we fall for their line” (June 30, 2005).

M. P. Chishti

Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2015

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