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Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world, the only Islamic state to have nuclear weapons, under military dictatorship for 33 of its 50 years in existence. Its 1000-mile border with Afghanistan is the likely hideout of Osama bin Laden--yet it is the linchpin in the United States' war on terror. With increasingly bold attacks by Taliban supporters in the border regions threatening to split the Pakistan army, with the only political alternatives as corrupt as the regime they seek to replace, and with a newly radicalized movement of lawyers testing its strength as champions of the rule of law, the chances of sustained stability in Pakistan look slim. Tariq Ali, long acknowledged as a leading commentator on Pakistan, combines deep understanding of the country with extensive firsthand research and unsparing political judgment to weigh the prospects of those contending for power today.--From publisher description.… (more)
User reviews
The problem is that the critique itself is so generalized that one starts to feel that it lacks incisiveness. Its not that I necessarily disagree with what Ali says but when he paints with such broad brush strokes, there isn’t really a great deal of substance to engage critically with. The problem is that Tariq Ali is not a journalist and comes across as somewhat out of touch with the day to day evolution of the troublesome Pakistani-American relationship since 9/11. In fact the book is strongest when he recounts events that he has a first-hand knowledge of (his description of students organizing for political agitation in the lead up to the Bangladeshi war of independence in 1971 for example) or his conversations with those great icons of disappointed liberal Pakistani aspirations – Zulfiqar and Benazir Bhutto.
Its difficult to say who precisely will get the most out of this book. Someone looking for a readable and general summary of the Pakistani-American relationship and its effects on Pakistan could do worse than pick this up, though those looking for nuance might be frustrated by some sweeping assertions presented as indisputable fact. Those looking for a comprehensive or detailed account will probably not get what they want here, while specialists in the region will find little that is new (with the possible exceptions where Tariq Ali writes of his own experiences). I suspect the readers who will get the most out of the book will be those who already essentially agree with Tariq Ali’s analysis and are looking for an eloquent articulation of the views they already hold – that the ruling American and Pakistani elites are locked in an mutually beneficial relationship which has proved in the case of Pakistan to be disastrous for the country, strangling the development of democratic institutions and progressive social movements.