Cutting Free : The Extraordinary Memoir of a Pakistani Woman/Salma Ahmed. New Delhi, Roli Books, 2007, xii, 262 p., (pbk). ISBN 81-7436-504-4.

    Contents: Preface. Acknowledgements. 1. From India to Pakistan. 2. Early years. 3. Italia Bella. 4. Trapped into marriage. 5. Decadent living. 6. To Moscow via London. 7. Apaji -- my mother-in-law. 8. Auld Lang Syne. 9. Tehran. 10. Stirrings of motherhood. 11. Test cricket down under. 12. The entrepreneur. 13. In Algiers. 14. An unhappy wife. 15. Dabbling in politics. 16. Yahya takes over. 17. Mecca. 18. Debarred from cricket. 19. Turbulent years. 20. Political Shenanigans. 21. Elections 1977. 22. The lady ship-breaker. 23. Silent tears. 24. Meeting Indira Gandhi. 25. In the spotlight. 26. In parliament. 27. Twice Bitten. 28. Strange Bedfellows. 29. On the international stage. 30. Dismissal of the assembly. 31. First president of IFWE. 32. Interregnum. 33. A mother mourns. 34. New player, unchanged politics. 35. Afghanistan: the new challenge. 36. Unfinished agenda. 

    "Beginning with a privileged childhood in a elite family of pre-partition India, to a troubled youth in Pakistan, this is the inspiring story of Salma Ahmed--a woman who surmounted formidable odds to achieve extraordinary success in business and politics.

    In this strikingly honest and candid account, Salma talks of her three marriages -- to a naval officer, a scion of a leading feudal family, and a cricketing star, her conflicts as a mother as she makes the agonising decision to give up two of her six children, and her efforts to build a career as a business entrepreneur and political figure in an emerging Pakistan. As she recounts the events of a life filled with dramatic highs and equally painful lows, she does not spare herself any more than she does other players in her story. This is a book that unabashedly reveals many of the hidden taboos of contemporary Pakistani society, bringing into question customs that are an integral, if unpleasant, part of sub-continental culture. 

    Salma Ahmed's gripping narration of her political career is fast-paced and often amusing. The book relates events of the 1985 assembly which no other author has yet commented on. Her interaction with the late President Zia-ul-Haq and Prime Minister Mohammad Khan Junejo, MQM leader Altaf Hussain, the charismatic Pir Sahib Pagaro, and several others, gave her a unique opportunity to witness first-hand the intrigue, power plays and unfolding drama of Pakistani politics. Her frequent visits to India brought her into contact with Indira Gandhi, her son Rajiv, and many other leading figures of the sub-continent.

    This is the absorbing tale of a woman who was a pampered child, an unhappy wife, a repentant mother--but one who emerged triumphant as a woman of substance, in business and politics."  

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