Crossed Swords: Pakistan, its Army, and the Wars Within
This is a book that I have lived with most of my life. Born into a military family with a long tradition of soldiering, in an area that has produced warriors and still does, I could not help but learn the ways of the soldiers and follow their activities with a knowing eye. This book […]
Since its hasty and messy creation in 1947, Pakistan has repeatedly been in the world news. It has experienced more turbulent internal events and been involved in more dramatic external ventures than most countries. These include partition, wars, coups, the Afghan resistance, internal dissension, and terrorism, as well as a recent deadly earthquake. Nevertheless, it […]
Pakistan is an easy place for a journalist to work. Most Pakistanis, from policemen to politicians, shopkeepers to soldiers, love to talk about pol itics. Admittedly, the more they know the less willing they are to speak on the record but nevertheless Pakistan remains a very open country. Indeed, Pakistan’s willingness to tolerate the scrutiny […]
MY fascination with Pakistan is not because I belong to a Partition family (though my wife’s family does); it is not even because of being a Punjabi. My interest in Pakistan was first aroused when, as a child, I used to hear stories from my late father, an air force officer, about two Pakistan air […]
This book would not have been possible had it not been for the immense kindness and hospitality of many Pakistanis, who invited me to their homes and talked to me frankly about their lives and their opinions– so many that the great majority will have to go unthanked. I am especially indebted to Ashraf and […]
This book has undergone many permutations, but has emerged all the better. I owe my thanks and gratitude to Professor Brendan O’Leary, who nurtured my interest in ethnic conflict regulation and encouraged me to be a thorough, logical, and dedicated student of South Asia. I also owe an enormous debt to Lord Professor Meghnad Desai […]
There have been a number of studies of colonial Lahore in recent years. These have explored such themes as the city’s modernity, its cosmopolitanism and the rise of communalism which culminated in the blood-letting of 1947. There has also been a study of how the city recovered from the socio-economic dislocation arising from the Partition […]
This book seeks to make sense of Pakistan’s history by examining the interplay between colonial inheritances and contemporary strategic and socio-economic environments. Equally important is the interplay between the regional and national levels of politics. The state’s response to pressures for increased political participation and devolution of power has been of crucial importance, as has […]