Oslo, Norway: “Public Diplomacy needs constant interaction among Pakistani diaspora abroad, academia, writers and journalists”.
This was observed in a meeting of the Head of DND Thought Centre and Prague-based Foreign Affairs expert Shazia Anwer Cheema with Pakistani origin Norwegian politician Khalid Mahmood here in Oslo on Tuesday. Khalid Mahmood is a renowned politician and writer of several books including a comprehensive research-based book on the Kashmir issue in the Norwegian language.
Since 1983, Khalid had been serving in the Oslo city council and a seasoned politician who also held the position of deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament while serving in the city council of Oslo.
Shazia Anwer Cheema was of the view that Public Diplomacy cannot be done only by diplomats but only when all the stakeholders are working together in synergy. She was of the view that the Norwegian diaspora of Pakistani origin and Pakistan media can work together to promote Pakistani culture and history among Norwegian youth.
Khalid Mahmood presented his books to Shazia Anwer Cheema during their meeting. His book Tarekh-e-Norway is popular among Urdu readers. Khalid Mahmood, who served as a member of Oslo City Council, took three years to write the book, liaising with his publishers in Lahore over how to translate certain terms — such as the Eucharist, which do not exist in Urdu. The book tells the history of Norway from the Ice Age until 1970, drawing on classic Norwegian histories, as well as on the biographies of Norwegian leaders such as Jo Benkow, Johan Nygaardsvold, and Einar Gerhardsen.
