In the world of business and investment perception plays a vital role in the feasibility of an investment or a business initiative. It is so important a phenomenon that it can transform any given event or change in business environment into a threat or an opportunity. On micro level venture capitalists along with other key indicators also study over all perception of prospective investment market before making their final decision. On macro level multinational companies and governments rely heavily on perception index before making any investment venture in or partnership with another country. If overall perception indicators are good investment or partnership will be made and if indicators are negative project will be abandoned. And they cannot be blamed for abandoning the project because every investment project has to achieve either financial gains in case of private investment or political gains in case of governmental partnership.

This phenomenon has taken a more serious dimension because now we live in a uni-polar world where one country with immense political and economic clout dictates its agenda. Furthermore we happen to be living in the age of globalisation where multi-national companies have more financial muscles than individual governments to force their way into any national boundaries.

An interesting aspect of current financial crisis that is sweeping through western economies across both sides of Atlantic is that governments here are feeling the brunt of recession while organizations are still making huge profits. Of course apart from those few related to finance who are responsible for bringing spectacular collapse of property and financial markets in Europe and North America. So in future countries like Pakistan have to curry favour these big multi-nations as well as big players in international politics.

Human history has told us that Capital has always been an undisputed king.

Or to put is more simple way Economy is everything. Huge stock pile of arsenals and advanced delivery mechanism with weak economy cannot and will not save a country or a nation or an empire. For those people who say they will shut down their factories for the sake of nuclear bomb I can only ask them who they would protect with their ‘Dear Bomb’ when there would no one to be protected. Histories are full of examples from Sparta to USSR where their advanced and sophisticated weaponry was unable to stop their disintegration because their economies collapsed. Therefore focus should be on economy because it is only thing that keeps us alive. When you are hungry you cannot eat bullets no matter you have hundreds of them. You have to eat bread and only good economy guarantees bread on the table.

Problem with a country like Pakistan is that for last six decades people have been taught twisted notions of false pride and distorted histories.

Result of this kind of teaching is that your whole population becomes an ever ready army you only have to tinker with their emotions. Whatever they do they do under the influence of their emotions. In such a society there exists no place for sanity or rationality. No one spare a minute to think about the consequences of their actions. If it feels good then do it no matter what. In such an environment no one for the fear of his/her life and dignity, can suggests of having good cordial relationships with the USA for its economic and military assistance and we should be very careful about Mr Davis case.

Because of this knee jerk attitude of our society no one takes us seriously even when we have genuine concerns. For us everything becomes a battle between good and bad or anything can put Islam in danger and we start protesting on our streets and close down our own businesses. In order to show our rage against Danish government we destroy properties bearing the brand of Telenor (even though Telenor belongs to Norway and not Denmark). Because of our irrational behavior as a society, outside world have a very negative perception of Pakistan. That is one of the reasons big multinationals companies are reluctant invest their capital in Pakistan.

In nation building, patience is of prime importance. It took country like China with huge resources, more than hundred years to displace Japan as second biggest economy in the world. They did not achieve this by spending their time protesting against Japan or the USA or the UK on their streets.

Instead they spent all their time and energies in their factories to become ‘Factory of the world’. They learnt their history lesson that foreigners ruled them because they had no money. Now every economy around the world makes decision after getting a nod of approval from Beijing only because they are sitting on largest foreign reserves in the history of mankind.

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