Pakistan's top envoy gets points for style, but holding her own?

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan— 

Just eight days into the job, Pakistan's first female foreign minister faced a daunting task: Try to thaw icy relations between her country and India on her first trip to the nuclear-armed archrival to the east.

Though Hina Rabbani Khar's foray over the border got high marks from many in Pakistan, diplomatic acumen wasn't what grabbed the attention of the Indian media. Instead, they obsessed over the 33-year-old's pearls, her blue pants ensemble, her sunglasses (Roberto Cavalli), even her handbag (Hermes).

"Quite apart from that winning smile, which has had India tied up in knots since she touched down Tuesday, the Pakistani foreign minister proved to be a spot-the-brand delight for the fash frat on this side of the border," beamed the Times of India newspaper after her visit to New Delhi late last month.

Upon her return to Pakistan, she expressed a measure of annoyance over the preoccupation with her accessories. Asked at the Lahore airport about the Indian coverage of her visit, she replied, "You see, paparazzi are everywhere. You [the media] should not do such acts."

The buzz about her looks and sense of style will eventually die down, but in Pakistan, larger questions loom about the level of experience she brings to the post, and her ability to take on the world's diplomatic heavyweights. Critics say her previous assignment, a five-month stint as minister of state for foreign affairs, wasn't long enough to prepare her for tackling powder kegs such as the troubled U.S.-Pakistani relationship, the Afghan conflict or India.

"She is going to have to punch well above her weight if she is to hold her own in the international bear pit that is foreign relations," remarked a July 26 editorial in the Pakistani English-language daily the News.

Other observers, however, say experience in world affairs isn't necessarily vital for the post, because the job almost always entails conveying foreign policy decisions and agendas set out by Pakistan's military and President Asif Ali Zardari. Articulating that agenda is the foreign minister's job, not crafting it.

"Those who know how Pakistan works know that foreign policy is not made in the Foreign Office," said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Lahore-based political analyst. "She's someone who can present the case, a person who will not make many waves. This is what's important to the foreign policymakers in Pakistan."

Khar comes from a political family rooted in feudal land holdings in southern Punjab, the country's most populous and wealthiest province. Her father, Ghulam Rabbani Khar, served in parliament. Her uncle, Ghulam Mustafa Khar, served as Punjab's chief minister.

Although many in Pakistan deride the political might that the country's feudal class still enjoys, experts say Khar's background is far from a drawback.

"Most of the leaders in Pakistan hail from a feudal background," said Javed Siddiqui, editor of Nawa-e-Waqt, an Urdu-language newspaper. "Pakistan's intellectuals and middle class have yet to enter into the political arena because it's still an expensive exercise. So, feudal landowners continue to have a big say in politics."

In announcing Khar's appointment, Zardari said the move was "a demonstration of the government's commitment to bring women into the mainstream of national life."

Experts, however, say Zardari's choice had more to do with his desire for someone less controversial than Khar's predecessor, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who rankled the country's leadership by harboring ambitions to become prime minister. He lost his job as foreign minister in February.

"The experience with the previous foreign minister was very important in this decision," Rizvi said. "[Qureshi] got to be too big for his shoes and aspired to become prime minister. They don't want a repeat of that."

Khar's first big test, her sit-down last month with Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna, a diplomatic veteran 45 years her senior, appeared to be well received on both sides of the border. No breakthroughs were achieved, but the two sides agreed to several confidence-building steps, including measures to increase cross-border trade between Indian-held and Pakistan-controlled parts of disputed Kashmir.

"The trip was a success," Rizvi said. "But the real test will come in a time of crisis. That's when personalities become clear."