The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power

by TariqAli (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2008

  $3.25

  Pakistan, the likely home of Osama Bin Laden and safe house for the Taliban forces fighting NATO in Afghanistan, stands on the front line of the war against terror. Yet, as recent events have shown, this long-time ally of the West and recipient of $10 billion of American aid in the past decade, is in deepening crisis. As President Pervez Musharraf struggles, with ever-diminishing success, to cling to power through states of emergency and imprisonment of his opponents, a range of forces are attempting to fill the vacuum that surrounds him: (before her death) Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, both previous presidents themselves and, Ali, argues, more corrupt than Musharraf himself; a lawyers movement that has taken to the streets demanding adherence to the constitution and the rule of law; and the Islamists in Waziristan and the North West Frontier whose increasingly effective assaults on the Pakistan army threaten to tip the country into full-blown civil war.With customary verve and acuity, Ali parses the prospects for these contending groups, drawing on extensive first-hand research and personal knowledge of many of the key players involved to assess the causes and consequences of Pakistan's rapid spiral into political chaos.

• Used

  Paperback
  2009

  $3.25

  Pakistan stands on the front line of the war against terror. Yet this long-time ally of the West, whose links with the US have caused enormous friction within the country, is in deepening crisis. As President Pervez Musharraf struggles to cling to power through states of emergency, press curbs and imprisonment of his opponents, a range of forces threaten to destroy him and tip the country into a full-blown civil war. Drawing on extensive first-hand research and personal knowledge, Tariq Ali investigates both the causes and the consequences of Pakistan's rapid spiral into political chaos. Shedding new light on controversial questions (did the US greenlight the execution of President Zufikar Ali Bhutto in 1979? Is NATO negotiating to grant the Taliban a role in Afghanistan? Are those now jockeying for power any less corrupt than Musharraf's current cronies?) he examines the various disparate elements and each of the key individuals whose conflicts are tearing Pakistan apart.