Amid spiralling Indo-Pak tensions, eminent Urdu poets believe cultural exchange between the two countries and visits of artists must be kept away from the purview of politics. Many Urdu poets expressed this desire on the sidelines of the 'Jashn-e-Bahar Mushaira' here last evening. A galaxy of poets, including Javed Akhtar, recited their poetry at the symposium to a packed house. In its 19th edition, this was the first time the Urdu poetry symposium had no representation from Pakistan.

Pakistan and Indonesia have been working closely to promote cultural as well as economic ties. After successfully launching ‘food diplomacy’, now both the countries will arrange ‘Islamic Fashion Show’ soon.

The Pakistani ambassador to Germany, His Excellency Jauhar Saleem and his wife Zara Jauhar were accompanied by over forty other Foreign Service officials at the event, which aimed to propel Pakistani fashion and art onto the global scale. #BrandPAKISTAN was designed to stimulate interaction and synergies between local fashion and jewellery designers, musicians and artists and the international audience.

At a time when Pakistan-US relations are possibly at the lowest ebb for a number of reasons, few people remember or even know of the peak days when a US first lady visited Pakistan and extensively travelled across the country to a rousing welcome by thousands of men, women and children 55 years ago. From Karachi to Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar, people were seen lining the roads and streets, waving, cheering and cherishing their country’s friendship with the United States.

Cricket diplomacy has thus long been used as a tool to bring the public in both India and Pakistan closer to each other through sport. For nearly 70 years, the scheduling (or cancelling) of matches has served as a signal of the state of political relations.

Since the formation of the Afghan National Unity Government in 2014, Kabul has used “Pashtun Diplomacy” as an instrument to bring the bilateral Afghanistan-Pakistan relationship back on track and make grounds for re-initiating normal official talks. The Afghan government also seeks the support of Pakistani Pashtun nationalist and religious parties as facilitators and confidence-builders in the Afghan peace process.

Even as official talks between India and Pakistan continue to stagger, track-two diplomacy is flowing in Dubai, with politicians from both sides discussing better governance and bridge building. On Tuesday, more than a dozen parliamentarians, media bosses and technocrats from both sides convened in Dubai for a dialogue on governance.

Over the past few years, the UAE’s multitude of diplomatic initiatives have included cultural diplomacy — such as an exhibition of Emirati art that toured nine US cities over two years and was titled Past Forward. This was in addition to major artistic events the UAE hosts including the Sharjah Biennial, Art Dubai and Abu Dhabi Art that bring thousands of people together. [...] However, very few of us know about the UAE’s historic role in sports diplomacy.