Pakistan: at the helm

"This book is an analytical collection of anecdotes, vignettes and incidents selected from Pakistan's history of the last seven decades."--Page xvii.

"Fascinating vignettes about the men and woman who ruled Pakistan. What did Muhammad Ali Jinnah say when he received a royal salute from the last British regiment about to leave Pakistan? Did Ayub Khan consider turning Pakistan into a monarchy? Why was Yahya Khan so confident that the 1970 elections would return a hung parliament? What did Zulfikar Ali Bhutto say when the Pakistan Army launched a brutal crackdown in March 1971? How did Zia-ul-Haq get Bhutto to appoint him the army chief? In 2007, did Benazir Bhutto misread the extent of American support for her return to Pakistan? Had Pervez Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif agreed to a pull-out from Kargil even before the latter went to meet US President Bill Clinton in July 1999? Backed by meticulous research, the second book from Tilak Devasher, author of 'Pakistan: Courting the Abyss', provides enthralling insights into the lives and times of the leaders of Pakistan over the seven decades of the nation's existence. Anecdotal and engrossing, 'Pakistan: At the Helm' presents a human side to the country's political history for anyone who is curious about the inner workings of its corridors of power."--Page 4 of printed paper wrapper.

End of the Raj : the last hurrah -- Muhammad Ali Jinnah : Quaid-i-Azam -- Ayub Khan I : unchartered waters -- Ayub Khan II : 1965, a bridge too far -- Yahya Khan I : unsteady hands -- Yahya Khan II : 1971, how not to fight a war -- Z.A. Bhutto I : picking up the pieces -- Z.A. Bhutto II : the arrogance of power -- Zia-ul-Haq : a chess player in a nation of cricketers -- Benazir Bhutto : paradise lost -- Nawaz Sharif : the comeback kid -- Pervez Musharraf : shoot and scoot.