Pakistan, the U.S., and Public Diplomacy with Consul General Riffat Masood

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy was pleased to host Riffat Masood, the Consul General of Pakistan in Los Angeles for a conversation about Pakistan, U.S., and public diplomacy. Consul General Masood discussed how the relationship between Pakistan and the United States, could benefit from public diplomacy efforts initiated by each country toward the other.

The Consul General resented her thoughts on public diplomacy initiatives that can support the long-term U.S. interests in the region which depend on a stable Pakistan deterred from nuclear proliferation and fomenting regional insurgencies. She spoke about how images and perceptions are the real war in Pakistan, and not the exclusive military action undertaken by the U.S. Now going on a decade since 9/11, most Pakistanis are equally anti-Taliban and anti-US. This has resulted in a failure for US public diplomacy. She suggested that both countries need to revisit ways and reinvigorate efforts in building up each other’s image.

Read the event synopsis below.

About Consul General Masood
Riffat Masood joined the Civil Services of Pakistan in 1984 as part of the Information Group. She served in the ministry of Information, in the External Publicity Wing for two and half years and in 1987, she joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan as a young probationer and has served in various capacities.

Riffat Masood’s first foreign assignment was as a Third Secretary in the Pakistan High Commission, London (January 1991-February 1994).She has also served as a First Secretary in the Pakistan Embassy Paris (April 1998-June 2001) and in Ankara, Turkey (June 2001-January 2003). While posted in Paris, she was also Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, hence gaining expertise in both multilateral and bilateral diplomacy. Her fourth foreign assignment was at the Pakistan High Commission New Delhi where she served for three and half years, as the Political Counsellor and later as the Deputy High Commissioner. She is now on her fifth posting as the Consul General of Pakistan to Los Angeles.

From 1994-1998, Riffat Masood also had the opportunity of working as the Protocol Officer to the Prime Minister. During this period, she had the honor of serving two Prime Ministers, the late Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, thereby witnessing from close quarters the functioning of government.

In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Riffat Masood has worked in senior positions in the America, Europe, South Asia, and Personnel divisions. Before going to New Delhi, Riffat worked for over a year in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) division as its Director. Riffat Masood is fluent in English, Urdu, Punjabi and Persian and has a working knowledge of French, Arabic, and Turkish.

Blame games, rigidity, arrogance and insensitivity to each others interests continue to be counterproductive to improving U.S.-Pakistani relations, so says Riffat Masood, the Consul General of Pakistan in Los Angeles. In her discussion of American public diplomacy efforts towards Pakistan, she argued that U.S. aid to the country has done little to improve the long-term well-being of Pakistan, deepening the resentment Pakistanis feel towards American presence in the region. She explained that Pakistanis have yet to see U.S. aid disbursed to local populations. Instead, citizens have witnessed instability and mounting economic failures since the U.S. entered the region after 9/11.

Despite their current relationship, the Consul General appeared hopeful that diplomatic tensions between the two nations can be resolved. She called on the United States to invest more resources directly to help improve Pakistan’s education system, infrastructure and economy and that the business sector can be instrumental in creating jobs and building a cooperative economic relationship between the nations.

Finally she emphasized the importance of passing legislation for the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones, aimed at rebuilding areas most affected by violent extremism. These improvements, she said, will send a strong message of support and commitment from the U.S. to ensure long-term stability in Pakistan. For more information on this subject, the Consul General recommended reading: The Scorpion’s Tale, by Zahid Hussain, and Pakistan: A Hard Country, by Anatol Lieven.

To read the Consul General's Remarks, click here.