Pakistan Askari Riyasat by Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed PDF Free Download
Pakistan Askari Riyasat authored by Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed. This book is the Urdu translation of “Pakistan the Garrison State: Origins, Evolution, Consequences 1947–2011”, translated into Urdu by M. Waseem.
This intellectually stimulating book is an important addition to the corpus of writings on modern and contemporary Pakistan, which by design and default has emerged as a „Garrison State‟ while helping us to understand why political Islam has become the most powerful political ideology and symbol of national identity in Pakistan.
The present work makes us understand why the military is so preponderant, powerful and influential in the country, so much so that „Garrison State‟ has become the right expression to describe the country. This well-written book is complementary to several recent publications on Pakistan, especially Husain Haqqani‟ ‘s Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military; Ayesha Siddiqa‟s Military Inc.; Ahmed Rashid‟ ‘s Pakistan on the Brink; Imtiaz Gul‟ ‘s The Most Dangerous Place; and last but not least, Anatol Lieven‟s Pakistan: A Hard Country.
The book under review addresses this complex issue in a comprehensive and commendable manner and Lahore-born Ishtiaq Ahmed, who is Professor Emeritus at Stockholm University, delves deep into the subject. He observes at the outset:
This study seeks to solve the following puzzle: in 1947, the Pakistan military was poorly armed and lacked the infrastructure and training needed to function as an effective branch of the state. It was not directly involved in politics. Over time, not only has it become a middle-range power possessing nuclear weapons, but it has also become the most powerful institution in the country with de facto veto powers over politics. How and why did this happen and what were its consequences? (Emphasis in original.)
The ‘how’ part is elucidated in extensive detail, running into 500 plus pages, and spans the period from 1937 that marks the formal articulation of the demand for a separate state and concludes with the ‘gory end of Osama bin Laden’ in May 2011. The analytical framework is contained in the first section of the book that dwells on how Pakistan transmutes into ‘the fortress of Islam: a metaphor for a garrison state’.
Urdu book “Pakistan Askari Riyasat” is now available on Pakistan’s virtual library in a high-quality PDF document for the study of our visitors. Check out the following links to read online or download the complete book in PDF format and enjoy offline reading on your computer and smartphone.
