Reconnecting ancient ties: Ambassador of Pakistan to Bhutan
Mr Afrasiab appreciates the tiny kingdom’s role as a bridge between India and Pakistan
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| Pakistan’s ambassador to Bhutan Mr Afrasiab |
Ambassador of Pakistan to Bhutan 5 October, 2011 – Face reading, ambassador of Pakistan to Bhutan Afrasiab said was a hobby, and diplomacy, his profession.
Mr Afrasiab, who is known to be equipped with the ability to read faces chose the latter over the former when it came to responding to how he would interpret his readings of the faces of His Majesty the King and prime minister to whom he presented his credentials yesterday.
“I don’t practice face reading in terms of interaction professionally,” he said.
In Islam, he explained there , however, existed a concept, which said that when god was happy with a nation it gave it good leadership.
“Bhutan is lucky to have good governance initiated by His Majesty the King and implemented by the prime minister,” he said, before delving into the art of physiognomy, which he explained was an analysis of the character of a person by looking at his or her facial features.
For instance, a philosopher, he said, had a large forehead, a diplomat had its nose-tip pointing down, a small mouth meant, not much of a talker, and large ears meant possessing the tendency to hear very carefully.
Mr Afrasiab then talked about the historical connection between Pakistan and Bhutan, which he said was embedded in the thread of history when Guru Padmasambhava visited Bhutan.
“He was born in Pakistan,” he said. “At a place called Swat around 100km from our capital of Islamabad.”
Likewise, he said even the Buddha had received his education in medicine at Taxila University, Pakistan, which he said was the world’s first University.
He narrated how other great saints in the region were all, in some ways, connected to Pakistan through the university.
On Pakistan-Bhutan relationship, he said the small Buddhist nation was a special country, not only for Pakistan but for the world mainly because of its extraordinarily traditions, impressive culture and the tradition of hospitality.
“Pakistan greatly values its relations with Bhutan,” he said. “We’d like to strengthen our relations with Bhutan in all fields.”
To begin with, he said the two nations could consider sending Bhutanese students to study in Pakistan and foreign-service officers to undergo training programs.
“We have good schools, medical colleges and universities,” he said. “We can benefit from you in terms of your concept of happiness, which is very rare in the world.”
Referring to the “Thimphu spirit” of the SAARC Summit the country hosted last year, he particularly emphasised the crucial role Bhutan played in bringing India and Pakistan together at the sidelines of the summit.
Similarly, during the SAARC inter summit in February this year in Thimphu, SAARC foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan, he said, met and agreed to resume the dialogue process between the two countries.
That, he said, subsequently led the two officials to visit one another’s countries.
“So Bhutan has played an important role in bringing Pakistan and India closer to each other,” he said.
Mr Afrasiab accompanied by his wife will be returning to Dhaka, where he is serving as the high commissioner for Pakistan to Bangladesh, today.
Source: kuenselonline