Pakistan Misogyny Policy: Najam Sethi’s Sexist ‘Send Women to Pubs’ Remark to Counter India’s Diplomacy in US Sparks Backlash

Amid soaring diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that claimed the lives of 26 tourists, a controversial statement by senior Pakistani journalist and former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi has sparked massive controversy and global outrage with his sexist and bizarre diplomatic advice amid rising India-Pakistan tensions. 

Sethi, known as a close aide of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in a recent Pakistani TV interview, proposed sending ‘attractive women’ to the United States to meet and charm the think tanks there in order to counter Indian diplomatic influence.

In a viral video circulating on social media, Sethi is seen suggesting that Pakistan lacks the diplomatic depth to match India’s influence in the US and should consider alternative tactics. Calling bureaucrats ‘very timid people’, Sethi said, “You need to know the lingo, the culture, how to reach across. Sometimes you need to sit in a pub and talk about these things. Sometimes you need to take a walk in the park. Sometimes you also need to mix a little bit of humour, sarcasm. You know, this is diplomacy, person-to-person. Charm is very important.” 

Addressing India ‘very big lobby there’, Najam Sethi has expressed concerns about many Indian-Americans holding very critical positions in multinationals and in big corporations and in the Senate and elsewhere in the Unites States. 

“Frankly, if you ask me, I think we are not ready for such an onslaught, such a diplomatic onslaught. I don’t think our diplomats are strong and articulated enough to counter this onslaught. And I think you need to galvanize academics and also think tankers, but not bureaucrats,” he said in the TV interview. He argued that instead of Pakistani diplomats, individuals with NGO and foreign affairs experience, especially women should lead the outreach efforts in the US.

The comment comes at a sensitive time when India has vowed strong retaliatory measures against terror sponsors, and countries across the world are rallying behind New Delhi’s demand for justice.

The remarks, widely condemned as sexist and undignified, come at a sensitive time when Pakistan is facing mounting international pressure over its active role in gruesome Pahalgam terror attack and sponsoring cross-border terrorism. While India has vowed strong retaliatory measures against terror sponsors, and countries across the world are rallying behind New Delhi’s demand for justice, this recent comment has completely exposed the neighbour country.

Sethi’s suggestion has triggered backlash from both within Pakistan and internationally. Social media erupted with anger while Pakistani women and activists widely condemned the remarks for objectifying women and trivialising diplomacy. 

“So, that’s the new Next Gen 21st Century, super high tech, stealthy deadly Missile from Pakistan?! Women??!! Damn!! We thought we were fighting an ideological enemy but it seems we’re fighting with a P**p and most probably a dealer or sort,” wrote one user on X. Others demanded an official apology and action against Sethi.