Pakistan has taken out a half-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in an attempt to shift what Islamabad feels is an anti-Pakistan narrative in the American media.

Pakistan's newest TV game show, Alif, Laam, Meem, the Islamic version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire...has become one of Pakistan's most popular shows. The show's emergence, and its burgeoning popularity, mirrors the broader direction of Pakistan...where religion is increasingly dominating all areas of life. Geo TV says the show's aim is to "impart knowledge of religion in its entirety".

A report from the New America Foundation (PDF) calls for a shift in U.S. support from aid to trade and investment, engaging with the Pakistani public and institutions at all levels of governance, including easing restrictions on travel visas and intensifying support for regional peace building through improved India-Pakistan relations.

Two Pakistani journalists filing reports home from Washington are quietly drawing their salaries from US State Department funding through a nonprofit intermediary, highlighting the sophisticated nature of America’s efforts to shape its image abroad.

New dialogue between the South Asian rivals calls for a new form of diplomacy, where top officials can go out, eat familiar cuisines and sit between the very people whose fate they are negotiating. This would give them a feel of how welcoming and hospitable one neighbour can be to another.

Late last month the USDA announced that the first shipment of mangoes imported from Pakistan had arrived in the United States. Previously, Pakistani mangoes had been banned because of concerns they might bring pests into the country. In celebration of this first shipment, the Pakistani consulate in Chicago hosted a "mango party" at which mango-based delicacies and desserts were served.

Pakistan’s use of terror as an instrument of proxy war against India is, of course, well established. And although successive Indian governments have deployed the full force of “coercive diplomacy” ... they haven’t always enjoyed enormous success.

According to a press release, the International MANGA Award, as part of the active use of pop culture in public diplomacy, was established to share Japanese pop culture and to help promote understanding of Japan among overseas cartoonists.