These are tough times for Pakistan with the economy in trouble and the law and order situation worsening day by day. It’s interesting how we’ve shifted from seeking entertainment from Star Plus to our own political drama. Many around the world are proclaiming us as a failed state.

Well, I admit, the situation does look bleak if you’re watching Pakistan from a television screen. The country may surely seem like a warzone if the only news that you hear about it is related to acts of violence. But is this really all that there is to the land of green?

You have to be a Pakistani to know what Pakistan is.The sheer amount of resilience that we exhibit in our daily life speaks a lot about us. We are one of the strongest nations in the world and despite all our hardships, the only thing that we truly fail at is failing itself.

Pakistan is not a failed state, it just can’t be. Take a look around you, look how life is flourishing. How we manage to go on managing our everyday despite all our troubles, refusing to give up. We are quick to recover no matter how grave the situation may be and we keep on going.

Despite the fact that our economy may not be at its very best right now but there is hope for Pakistan. “Why?”, you ask. Because we Pakistanis have started realizing their potential as individuals.

We have come to point where we can persevere under the worse of situations. We survive because we hold on to hope, we know in the depth of our hearts that tomorrow will be better for us. Some may rely on God for this hope, others would look upon family and friends. While there is also a lot, which believes that maybe our debts would rise so high that we would eventually be ruled by some alien forces, but that is all another story. These however are precisely some of the reasons that we don’t give up and flourish under the perverse of conditions.

You may be skeptical about the aforementioned remarks but there is a reason that foreign investment in Pakistan is growing. If Pakistan really was a lost cause, why would international brands like Hardee’s, Gloria Jeans, and Walt Disney choose to enter in Pakistan? This makes no sense in terms of business, why will you invest in a country that has everything going against it, on paper? This is exactly the reason that these companies are amongst the leading brands in the world. They are clever and have the capacity to capitalize on such highly prospective opportunities. Let’s take a look at these three companies that have shown their confidence in Pakistanby their investments.

Hardee’s is among the largest fast food chains that has more than 900 outlets. They currently have their outlets in Lahore and Karachi with a lease agreement just been signed for an outlet in Islamabad. According to news sources, Hardee’s plans to open around 25 outlets in Pakistan over four years. This will be total investment of Rs. 700 million, which will generate over 2,500 new jobs.

Gloria Jean’s Coffees is one of the world’s leading premium coffee company that has opened more than 1,000 coffee houses around the world. It recently opened an outlet in Karachi, to extend its presence from Islamabad and Lahore.

Disney is said to be the next big entry in Pakistan. They have not made any official announcement as such but Facebook has churned up with conversations regarding the appearance of billboards with Disney characters around the city along with a Facebook page.

 I think that Disney is deliberately keeping things quiet. There has not been any official word by Disney, yet. Perhaps, this may be another marketing gimmick, which would exactly be what they are aiming for. Creating enough spur by word of mouth that when they make their grand announcement, there is already a sufficient amount of hype preceding it.

Whatever the case may be, I just can’t help but be excited at the prospect of a company of Walt Disney’s stature coming to Pakistan. Only time will tell what do they have in store for us but till then, we can do nothing but anxiously wait.

If such big brands can have their faith in Pakistan, we citizens can surely find it within ourselves to continue hoping for a brighter future, which isn’t too far away, in my opinion!