Pakistan’s 7,000-Year Cotton Heritage Highlighted at Paris Conference

PARIS: A conference titled “Cotton Thread – A Multi-Millennial History of the Culture of Cotton of Pakistan” was held at the Embassy of Pakistan in Paris, bringing together diplomats, UNESCO officials, representatives of the French textile industry and fashion designers to explore Pakistan’s long history of cotton cultivation and its evolution into a global textile industry.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador of Pakistan to France Mumtaz Zahra Baloch traced the history of cotton in ancient Pakistan, noting its discovery around 7,000 years ago. She highlighted the contributions of farmers, spinners and weavers in developing a rich textile tradition that helped lay the foundations of the global textile industry.

The ambassador said that as cotton travelled across continents, it carried not only a valuable commodity but also knowledge, craftsmanship and cultural exchange.

She noted that textiles and apparel remain at the heart of Pakistan’s manufacturing and exports and provide employment to a significant portion of the country’s industrial workforce, from spinning mills in Faisalabad to export houses in Karachi and Lahore.

Ambassador Baloch stressed that cotton was not merely an agricultural crop or economic commodity for Pakistan but was deeply connected to the country’s cultural heritage through centuries-old traditions of spinning, weaving, embroidery and textile craftsmanship.

She said these living traditions form part of the intangible cultural heritage that UNESCO seeks to safeguard, particularly the knowledge, skills and craftsmanship passed down from one generation to the next.

Fredrika Sundberg, founder of M/s Sunberg and President of the “Cercle des Amis du Pakistan”, shared her expertise on Pakistan’s textile sector and traced the millennia-old roots of cotton from its origins in the Indus Valley to the country’s modern textile industry. She also highlighted Pakistan’s export potential in the textile sector.

Catherine Jarrige, archaeologist and former Co-Director of the French Archaeological Mission to the Indus Basin, shared insights into evidence of cotton cultivation in ancient Pakistan. She noted that archaeological discoveries showed that cotton was cultivated, spun and woven around 7,000 years ago in the Indus Valley Civilisation.

The conference was organised as part of the Embassy’s public and economic diplomacy outreach, aimed at highlighting Pakistan’s historical and contemporary links with cotton cultivation and the textile industry, as well as the sector’s central role in the country’s economy.