Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Royal Couple in Pakistan
BY ALI NAQVI –
Prince William, the crown prince of Great Britain and his wife Kate Middleton are coming to Pakistan. It is a big news. Anyone who is getting this news is like “wow, that’s great”. Well, why so excited. On one hand we hate the British for ruling on the subcontinent for a hundred years and also for creating the Kashmir problem at the time of partition but on the other hand we like to be given attention by the English Royal Family.
Prince William and Kate Middelton are coming to Pakistan for the first time. They are invited by Aga Khan Centre to attend a special event being held on October 2nd 2019. The news was confirmed by Kensington Palace that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be visiting Pakistan.
It was in 2006 that any member of the Royal Family visited Pakistan. Prince Charles and Camila had visited Pakistan during their tour of South Asia. The most beloved and respected member of the Royal family in Pakitan was Princess of Wales Lady Diana who visited the country for charity reasons in 1991.
Pakistanis are welcoming Prince William and Kate, which is good hospitality to start with. We are a hospitable people. Ours is the nature to welcome guests and be as cordial to them as possible.
This is not the time to go into the debate of the western agenda of alienating Pakistan politically and economically but this is an opportunity to talk about how we perceive the occident. There are a lot of conspiracy theories, misconceptions and misgivings that may or may not be valid. What’s important is to communicate with the “other” world. Effective communication and interaction can break the ice between the orient and the occident.
At the time of partition or even before that, Muslims were not as educated as their Hindu counterparts. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was the first thinker who stressed on the need to get modern education to understand not only the English language but also the British mindset that could enable the Muslims to talk about their rights in a better way. It was not until Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah that Muslims got a leader who could take up their case.
Modern education and learning is the key to progress and the only way to communicate with the west. Hatred, emotional slogans or just blink following will not do any good to our cause. It’s a long debate… Prince William and Kate Middleton are most welcome. It’s an opportunity to show them how peaceful and peace loving we really are.
