Pak's latest Bombshell:
Hina Rabbani Khar

Pakistan’s latest mechanism to create unrest in India has finally made it to the country. The reigning Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Hina Rabbani Khar, is creating more news than her country’s foreign policy.

Being the youngest and first woman foreign minister of Pak, Hina has garnered more footage for her style rather than the political agenda that she’s here to discuss.

Dressed in a plain blue suit with her head covered by a dupatta, Hina landed on the Indian soil to initiate peace talks between the two nations. But, it seems that this time, people are more interested in talking about the minister’s fashion sense than the political agenda.

The Roberto Cavalli shades and Birkin bag by Hermès gave her a strong, formal look. The string of pearls around her neck and diamonds on her finger added to the glam quotient of the 34-year old, mother of three.

Her arrival has caused a flutter in the virtual world too. Indians seem to be smitten by her style and persona. Posted an Indian fan on one of Hina’s communities on Facebook, “OMG, Pak foreign minister "Hina Rabbani Khar" is tooooo sexy for politics.....i love her....(sic)”

Another Indian admirer remarked, “too sexy..india se wapas mat jane do,sania mirza k badale le lo ise.. :)) (sic)” (Too sexy. Don’t let her return from India, exchange her for Sania Mirza).

From one social networking site to another, people are simply going gaga about this young and charming minister.

Shereen Sikka tweeted on the micro-blogging site, “Hina Rabbani... VERY CHIC! makes me wanna watch the news more often;) (sic)”

Now that Indians are sending out messages to the minister, wonder what Hina has to say to the proposal.

Born into one of Pakistan’s most prominent and influential political families, Hina Rabbani Khar carved a niche of her own when she became the youngest and the first woman Foreign Minister of her country on 20 July, 2011.

The 34-year-old hospitality graduate faced her first big test just six days into office, when she travelled to India for bilateral peace talks between the neighbouring nations.

Even before the stunning Ms Khar set foot on Indian soil, local media and social networking sites went abuzz over “how Pakistan had put it’s best face forward”.

And once the mother of three landed at the New Delhi airport, her Roberto Cavalli shades (which covered half her face) and oversized Hermes black Birkin bag, not to mention the exclusive South Sea pearls around her neck and ears, won the approval of the fashionistas on this side of the border. While her 17-lakh Birkin bag was one of the top trending items on Twitter, Khar’s looks and attire fetched more newsprint than the peace talks itself.

Speaking of the real purpose she was here, Khar failed to create a stir. While she chided the Indian media for their “dated” rhetoric in the discussion on terrorism, which has soured relations between the two countries, she herself said nothing we hadn’t heard before. Worse still, she referred to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks as “the Mumbai incident”.

Ms Khar, we’d like to remind you that over 160 lives were lost and several hundred were injured in the attacks. You might call it just “an incident” in Pakistan — in your words, the one country in the world that faces the challenge of terrorism “on a daily basis, on an hourly basis,” but don’t make that mistake here.

As if to make up for her irresponsible statements, Khar paid obeisance at the dargah of the famous Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya at New Delhi and prayed for peace between the two countries.

As Khar flies out of India, she might have won many admirers in the fashion circuit, but as a Foreign Minister she left much desired.

Background and Political Career

Khar was born on 19 January 1977 in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. She is the daughter of politician Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar and niece of Ghulam Mustafa Khar. She graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) from Lahore University of Management Sciences in 1999 and received her M.Sc in Hospitality Management from the University of Massachusetts in 2001.

Married to a businessman named Imran Khan, the couple has two sons and one daughter. A polo enthusiast, Khar is the co-owner of the Polo Lounge, a popular upscale restaurant located on the Lahore Polo Grounds.

She served as the State Minister for Economic Affairs and Statistics in the cabinet of Yousaf Raza Gillani. On 13 June, 2009 she became the first woman to present a budget speech in the National Assembly.

She was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs on 11 February 2011, as part of Prime Minister Gillani’s cabinet reshuffle. After Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s resignation as foreign minister, Khar was officially appointed foreign minister on 19 July by President Asif Ali Zardari and was sworn in on 20 July.

Hina Rabbani’s face may be new, but her lies are old

In her interactions with the Indian media on Wednesday, Pakistan’s foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar chided them for their “dated” rhetoric in the discussion on the problem of terrorism, which has soured relations between the two countries.

Khar’s point was that Pakistan is today the one country in the world that faces the challenge of terrorism “on a daily basis, on an hourly basis” but that the Indian media were not reflecting its predicament, but instead focusing excessively on Pakistan’s sponsorship of terrorism in Indian soil.

She then provocatively referred to the 26/11 attack on Mumbai — in which terrorists from her benighted country, brainwashed by ISI militarists, set sail for India and waged war — as “the Mumbai incident”, and suggested that the trial of its perpetrators in Pakistan was proceeding at a faster pace than the trial in India of the accused in the 2007 bombing of the Samjhauta Express.

Both of Khar’s statements project a flawed equivalence between Pakistan and India.

It is of course true that Pakistan today faces terrorism “on a daily basis, on an hourly basis”. But the difference, Ms Khar, is that these are the poisonous fruits of the jihadi tree that your country’s leaders have themselves planted.

It was your country’s military leaders and their ISI cohorts who spawned terrorist groups ( or “non-state actors”, as you call them) as part of your agenda to engage India in “proxy war” — first in Punjab, then in Kashmir, and then elsewhere in India. And you’re now reaping the grim harvest of that cynical power game.

So while we sympathise with the loss of innocent lives even in Pakistan, please forgive us if we don’t see the Pakistani state as quite the victim in the same way as we see ourselves when you send murderous gangs to wage war in our cities.

You’ve been heralded, in over-the-top media accounts in India, as the new face of Pakistani diplomacy.

You’ve taken the high moral ground by claiming that India-Pakistan relations mustn’t be held hostage to the vicissitudes of history.

But the words you speak reek of the same, tired dishonesty that we’ve heard down the ages.

From the dark night on which your country was born, it has nursed — as this son of one of Pakistan’s iconic politicians noted — a venomous obsession with India. India’s very existence as a secular democracy and as a home to millions of Muslims calls the bluff of the Two Nation theory, on which basis Pakistan was founded.

It was your covetous lusting of Kashmir that poisoned your countrymen’s mind and led them into three disastrous wars with India. And when that didn’t work, you bred jihadi serpents and set them loose in our garden.

If you really mean what you say and want to make a new start with India, there’s much that you and your country can do.

For a start, it would help if you called it the “Mumbai terrorist attack organised by Pakistani handlers” — not “the incident”.

Second, you can show earnestness of purpose by addressing the core problem of terrorism that is tearing your country’s soul apart — and inflicting grievous pain when it strikes in our cities. Up until now, all we’ve heard are wholesale denials of culpability, even when they’ve been laid bare for the world to see, and persistent coddling of terrorists.

And if you really want to open a new chapter in relations with India, stop lusting after Kashmir, and let your countrymen’s minds be healed of the jihadi fervour that currently overwhelms them.

Perhaps then we might begin to unburden the baggage of history that weighs our two countries down.

'What's the big fuss over Khar's fashion?'

She is rich, stylish, and travels the world - so what's the big deal about Pakistan's youngest and first female foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar's Birkin bag, Roberto Cavalli shades and Jimmy Choo heels that were on view during her visit here, ask Indian and Pakistani designers.

Her classic black Hermes' Birkin could cost anything above $10,000-$15,000, her Roberto Cavalli shades cost over $500 and the Jimmy Choo heels over $900.

Karachi-based designer Huma Adnan admits Khar, whose three-day trip to India concluded Thursday, is one of the most stylish politicians in her country, but finds it strange that there is so much discussion in India over her dressing.

"I know Hina for the past 15 years. She is a public figure with a very conservative and neat look. Her sense of using right accessories makes her different from other politicians. But the fact that she wears high-end brands should not be a topic of discussion. She belongs to a rich family, owns property in Punjab...so why not," Adnan asked while speaking to us over the phone.

When Khar landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here Tuesday for talks with her Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna, her blue ensemble, teamed with a simple string of pearls, oversized handbag and shades grabbed many eyeballs.

A post-graduate in hospitality and tourism from the University of Massachusetts, Khar has her roots in a wealthy feudal family of southern Punjab and owns Lahore's posh Polo Lounge, a haunt of the rich and the powerful.

In past appearances across the border, she has been spotted sporting bags from luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo.

Designer Fahad Hussayn from Lahore said: "I believe a woman always picks up an accessory that is driven by her persona. And with how she carries herself, you can tell the style statement is not newly acquired."

Khar likes her subdued, yet stylish dressing - something she proved with the cream ensemble she wore during India-Pakistan talks here.

Aamna Isani, a senior fashion journalist from Karachi, feels proud that Indians are lauding Khar's dress sense.

"It's good to know that a Pakistani leader is emerging as a style icon. The last fashion icon we had was Benazir Bhutto, who represented a perfect mixture of style and grace," Isani told us.

"When it comes to designer brands, this is not the first time a Pakistani leader has come out with such an image. Pakistan leaders have always been very stylish and fashion-conscious - from Mohammad Ali Jinnah to Bhutto...so why fuss over Khar's style," she added.

Even Indian designer Anjalee Kapoor of label Anjalee and Arjun Kapoor, supported the young minister.

"No one has the right to comment on the materialistic things Hina Rabbani carried. It's her personal style. As far as she can afford it, everything should be fine. It hardly matters if Pakistan is a poverty-stricken state. She belongs to a well-off family...so it's okay," Kapoor told us.

Pam Mehta said that Khar looked extremely graceful in her kurta and pants, "and kept in tune with the traditional look and workmanship with fine embroidery and an extremely fresh colour palette. The accessorising was subdued and controlled with subtlety of white pearls and a classic Birkin in black and and sophisticated black shoes. Her look was not overstated, and it was overall a very sophisticated"

The Twitter world reacted strongly to the 34-year-old's upmarket dressing. Some, including actress Gul Panag, gave it a thumbs up, while others questioned the viability of flaunting expensive brands.

"I like the way Hina Rabbani looks. With her movie star sunglasses, head covered, Birkin in tow. May be she is brilliant too," Gul posted.

However, well-knonw media person Rajdeep Sardesai did not react positively to Khar's expensive style statement.

"Rumour has it that Hina Khar came to Delhi with a $10,000 handbag. And we thought pak was in an eco crisis! (sic)," he posted on Twitter.

Sardesai's wife Sagarika Ghose, herself a well-known journalist, said: "Hina Rabbani Khar is beautiful but obviously part of disconnected Pak elite. 10 thou $ Hermes bag when country devastated? not the right note."

Another Twitterati, Saumya Sharma, said: "Hina Rabbani Khar loves Birkins and pearls. Her country is devastated, suicide bombing is literally an industry, economy non-existent.. .and that's what she wants to talk about on a state visit?? NICE! Khar wearing Hermes and Jimmy Choo doesn't excite me. I'd much rather have a national leader like Indira Gandhi - always wore Indian handlooms."