The Pakistan High Commission in Harare marked its national celebrations this month. Ambassador Murad Ali Khan currently holds the fort on the long friendship between Islamabad and Harare — a relationship that stretches from trade and technical cooperation to scholarships and, most colourfully, cricket.
As Africa and Asia jostle for new trading and cultural partners, Pakistan’s quiet, consistent engagement with Zimbabwe has turned out to be one of the more enduring friendships on the map.
The man who bats for both sides
The countries share Sikandar Raza — born in Sialkot, Pakistan’s city of sports goods, and now the beating heart of Zimbabwe’s cricket team. His journey from a military-college classroom to world cricket’s grand arenas reads like a mini-diplomatic novel: the son of Pakistani soil who found his voice, fame and purpose in Zimbabwean colours.
Raza is living proof that cultural diplomacy sometimes wears batting gloves. He bridges two passionate cricket nations not through policy statements, but by making fans in Lahore and Harare cheer the same man for different reasons. In a world that builds walls faster than friendships, that’s a remarkable thing.
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When asked once what flag he salutes, Raza laughed: “When I hit a century, both flags smile. That’s enough for me.”
Trade, textbooks and tea
Cricket aside, Pakistan’s presence in Zimbabwe stretches into less publicised corners. There’s a steady trickle of Zimbabwean students on Pakistani scholarships, especially in medicine and engineering. A handful of small traders in Harare’s downtown import textiles, surgical instruments and beauty products from Lahore and Faisalabad — modest, people-to-people trade that doesn’t make the IMF charts but keeps livelihoods moving.
A tale of two resilient nations
In many ways, the Pakistan-Zimbabwe story is one of parallel grit. Both countries have wrestled with sanctions, image issues and economic headwinds. Yet both keep showing up — whether in cricket fixtures or development cooperation tables — determined to prove that talent and potential cannot be embargoed.
At a symbolic level, Raza’s cross-cultural success mirrors that stubborn optimism. His rise has drawn new eyes to Zimbabwean cricket, revived old respect from the subcontinent and quietly reminded diplomats that soft power often begins with a shared love for sport, not speeches.
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