A History of the Pakistan Army (PB)
| Author: |
Brian Cloughley |
| Publisher: |
Oxford University Press |
 Available for delivery within US & Canada only.
About the author
Table of contents
Foreward
Readers Comments
Description:
This is an in-depth study of the Pakistan Army. Pakistan’s three wars with India are covered vividly, using unpublished sources and facts, and opinions from Indian as well as Pakistani accounts. The dramatic story of the country’s resurrection under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, after the disastrous war with India over Bangladesh, is told in an eminently readable way. The later history of the army, while Pakistan was grappling with unaccustomed democracy and verging on anarchy, is told using close personal knowledge of many of the senior players.
This new edition of the book contains a chapter which describes the dramatic resignation of the army chief in 1998 (giving his hitherto unpublished personal reasons), and the intrusion into the Indian-administered territory in Kashmir by Pakistan-backed militants in 1999, using information provided by senior foreign officials as well as highly placed Indian and Pakistani sources.
Excerpts from Newsline, September 99
The book reads like a history of Pakistan itself, which illustrates how deeply involved the military has been over the past 50 years in matters of State.. Cloughley discusses in detail the wars fought by the Pakistan army; the tactics it evolved in the process and the result that ensued. He particularly mentions the 1965 and 1971 wars, delving into the circumstances that led to them, their outcome and the effects that lingered in the aftermath.
| DesiStore # |
PBS00881 |
| ISBN | 0-19-579507-5 |
| Edition |
Second |
| Year |
2000 |
| Pages |
435 |
| Weight (kg) |
0.50 |
| Shipping Weight (lbs) |
1.27 |
| Pics (b/w) |
30 (incl. maps) |
| HB/PB |
Paper Back |
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Cloughley describes Ayub Khan as the “father” of the modern Pakistan army. In his very laudatory narrative, the former dictator emerges as a tough soldier who turned around not only the military but the country as well. Meanwhile he is less charitable to Bhutto and Zia.
Rather than the wars, however, it is the account of the insurrections that make for more interesting reading. Here Cloughley talks about the coup attempts that pepper Pakistan''s history; from the Rawalpindi conspiracy to Agartala, and then to the various plots against Zia, the roles played by General Aslam Beg and General asif Nawaz and onwards to the Zaheer abbasi case. Also mentioned are the near wars that erupted between the two countries and the ways in which the situations were diffused.
Cloughley is unforgiving of the army’s attempts at crushing the rebellion in East Pakistan, remarking that it is unbelievable that such a disciplined army could act in such a fashion.
Some interesting anecdotes included in the book are indicative of how some of Pakistan’s leading generals thought and acted. Tensions within the army have also been discussed as has been the clash of personalities and interests. The book also talks about the peculiar style of democracy that Pakistan is enduring and the military distaste of the problems that go with it.
The book is very readable and does not have the extra baggage that accompanies the memoirs written by a Pakistani military man.
A History of the Pakistan Army (PB)
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