New York:
The Wall Street Journal is the largest-circulated newspaper in the US. It is read by policy makers in Washington and certainly by almost everybody on the Wall Street. On September 11, the readers of the journal woke up to the expected coverage of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and something a little more unusual - on page 10, a half-page advertisement by the government of Pakistan.
The advertisement lists several statistics aimed at highlighting the impact of the 9/11 attacks - and the subsequent war in Afghanistan - on Pakistan. Through this ad, the Pakistan government touts its efforts against Al Qaeda and praises itself for its role in America's war on terror. In fact, it even goes on to suggest that Pakistan is fighting terror for the rest of the world.
In the advertisement, which has a picture of the assassinated former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan asks, "Which country can do more for your peace?"
It goes on to give statistics of bomb blasts and assassination plots against Pakistani leaders and civilian and military casualties that a "nation of 180 million" suffered while "fighting for the future of world's seven billion". The advertisement notes that despite sacrifices, the country is still engaged in "the war for world peace". "Can any other country do so? Only Pakistan," it adds.
The advertisement has invited flak from all quarters and has not gone down well with most readers. Some are calling the ad a "joke" and questioning how a country where Osama bin Laden was hiding safely for years can "claim to be a victim of terrorism".
Readers posted their reaction to the half-page advertisement on 'The Threat Matrix,' a blog of the Long War Journal, which is a publication focused on providing analysis on the global war against terror.
"This is quite humorous. They could do a hell of a lot for world peace by destroying their plethora of militant groups. Does any other nation have such an inflated sense of self worth (sic)," reads one of the comments posted on the blog.
Another reader comments, "It would be nice if you would purge the ISI of Taliban/al Qaeda sympathisers, then launch assault into the FATA supported by heavy weapons and armour".
On May 2 this year, Americans woke up to the news that Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, had been living in Pakistan for the past few years while the US and the Pakistani government had reportedly been looking for him in Afghanistan. He was killed that day by US navy SEALs, but the average American's perception of Pakistan plummeted and it will surely take more than ads like these to reverse that. (With agencies Inputs)