A US official is taking a novel approach to diplomacy in Pakistan - singing in a local language to build bridges in Pakistan, where anti-Americanism runs rampant. Shayla Cram, a public diplomacy officer assigned to Peshawar, has not only learnt Pushto but has penned her own Pushto-style song.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said India would like to see a “strong, stable and prosperous” Pakistan and that he was happy to see democracy flourish over there as he received a Pakistani parliamentary delegation. Mr Singh also told the delegation led by Senate Chairman Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari that closer relations between parliaments in the two countries was necessary for strengthening bilateral ties.

A US official is taking a novel approach to diplomacy in Pakistan — singing in a local language to build bridges in one of the world’s most dangerous countries, where anti-Americanism runs rampant.

As relations between India and Pakistan continue to thaw, opportunities for contact and dialogue have increased across a variety of areas, including diplomacy, sport and the entertainment world. In one notable development, Indian screen legend Naseeruddin Shah embarked on a week-long visit to the neighbouring country, amid hopes that joint film, theatre and other performing arts productions could become a reality down the road.

The song starts with guitar and then Rabab, coupled with a melodious voice. It is a Pashto song but the accent is American.

The U.S. Department of State awarded the University of Kentucky a $1.7 million grant to partner with universities in the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, through the University Partnership in Business Administration program.

The members of the band Della Mae come from all over the United States: Vermont, South Carolina, Colorado, Wyoming and Washington State. And they are steeped in the Appalachian bluegrass tradition. You can’t get much more American than that. Perhaps that’s why the US State Department selected Della Mae to be America’s cultural ambassadors to Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The band calls it their “‘Stan Tour.”

US director for Afghan-Pakistan public diplomacy Eileen M O’Conner called on Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira on Tuesday. They discussed matters of mutual interest, particularly cooperation in the field of media that played role as opinion maker.