A History of the Pakistan Army : Wars and Insurrections

Contents: Preface. 1. The beginnings. 2. Ayub Khan -- adjutant-general to president. 3. Preparations of war. 4. 1965 phase one--Kashmir. 5. The September war. 6. The last years of Ayub. 7. Yahya Khan and the inevitability of the 1971 war. 8. Civil war and the Indian invasion. 9. War in the west--and the fall of Yahya. 10. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. 11. The years of Zia. 12. Democracy again. 13. Karamat to Kargil. 14. The coup, the borders, and the army's capabilities. Afterword. Annexes: i. Examples of class, religion, and ethnicity in the composition of units in the British Indian Army; and arms (combat) units allocated to the Pakistan Army at partition. ii. Rank structure of the Pakistan Army; and, operational gallantry awards. iii. Glossary of acronyms and military terms. Bibliography. Index.

"This is an in-depth study of the Pakistan Army. The scope of this book is wide because field Marshals and generals continue to rule the country. The author describes Paksitan's violent internal politics and erratic international relations in the context of military involvement, with the deep knowledge gained through long association with the country and its armed forces. Pakistan's wars with India are covered vividly, using unpublished sources and facts, and opinions from Indian as well as Pakistani accounts.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 is told in an eminently readable way. The book also highlights the years of dictatorship that followed. The later history of the army, while Pakistan was grappling with unaccustomed democracy and verging on anarchy, is told using personal knowledge of many of the senior players.

The most important aspect of this new edition is the final chapter which covers the army coup of 1999 and ensuing developments. The author updates many details in the light of later information, including the Hamoodur Rehman Commission of Inquiry into the 1971 War which was declassified and released in 2001. There are forthright descriptions of involvement by the army in governing Pakistan for so much of its history, and accounts of friction between civilian governments and the army are drawn from discussions with senior figures involved. There is analysis of the political aspects of the post-coup years, and examination of the army's budget, procurement, capabilities and deployment in support of the US 'War on Terror', notably its campaign in Waziristan in 2004-2005.

The army's peacekeeping role is covered in detail, with special note of the mission in Somalia, and there is straightforward examination of the problems affecting the army in regard to confrontation with religious extremists, mismanagement of defence funds, and the army's role in land management."