Why I’m Silent on Pakistan Politics & Injustice

I was deported & blacklisted from a country once.

I had relocated for a chief marketing officer job but ended up striking out on my own, exactly like what I’m doing here in Pakistan. I set up my own company, hired staff, and landed Samsung as my first client.

The country was India.

I lived there for 3 years. During that time I had a 2-month gig for Guns N’ Roses to handle their digital marketing, touring with them. I wrote for Wisden (the famous cricket almanack) and attended the RCB IPL matches, even making friends with the players. I started India’s 1st luxury travel blog in 2011.

And I had a weekly column in the national newspaper DNA.

MY SILENCE IN PAKISTAN

Receiving comments on why I’m not speaking up over protests – or DMs from people upset that I am sharing my everyday life as if I’m unaware of what’s happening around me and/or my privilege – are frequent (and valid).

The reason is that I was BLACKLISTED 5 YEARS FROM INDIA as punishment for 1 column I wrote in DNA. It was an honest account of the step-by-step process that foreigners go through to renew their work visas in Bangalore at the FRRO. I didn’t slander the Department but they were embarrassed as it shined a light on how old-fashioned & paper-driven things were & how confusing it all was.

My “insider’s glimpse” into what I went through was viewed as an insult to the Immigration Department.

I saw their point of view AFTER but it was too late.

They struck quickly, involving the police! My daughter and I had to visit a police station DAILY. They’d walk us to the basement, past cells with incarcerated men to scare us I presume (there had to be a normal interview room above ground!), to give statements affirming we hadn’t done anything illegal the previous day. Until finally they deported us both and blacklisted ME.

I lost everything. And I learned from it.

As a guest of Pakistan, I will do what I came here to do – try to uplift tourism to Balochistan and make it a win-win for locals. I’ll mentor young women and show the world the beauty of Pakistan.

But I can’t do any of that if I’m ever asked to leave…