The
Duel: Pakistan on the
Flight Path of American Power
Tariq Ali
Reviewed by Amitrajeet A. Batabyal
Since the dastardly events of 11
September 2001, the global “war on
terror” led by the United States (U.S.) has taken many twists and
turns.
Specifically, in the context of the ongoing war on terror in Afghanistan,
western governments now appear to agree that it will not be possible to
stabilize Afghanistan
without also stabilizing Pakistan.
As this view has gained currency, the present condition and the likely
future
status of Pakistan
have loomed large in the eyes of many western governments and security
analysts. This book chronicles the relationship between Pakistan
and the U.S.
not only in the context of the war on terror but, more generally, it
focuses on
“the long duel between a U.S.-backed politico-military elite and the
citizens
of the country” (p. ix).
The author begins by taking the
pulse of Pakistan
at age sixty. He then “rewinds Pakistan”
by delineating the circumstances that led to its creation in 1947. He
correctly
notes that the founder of Pakistan—Mohammed
Ali Jinnah—had not paid adequate attention to the implications of
partitioning India
along religious lines. As a result, there was confusion among the
Pakistani
elite as to whether this nascent nation ought to follow a secular
course of
action or whether it ought to be a nation for Muslims. Even if one
subscribed
to the latter perspective, there was confusion about how inclusive to
be. As
the author puts it, when confronted with a massive influx of refugees,
“a
panic-stricken Muslim League leadership in Karachi...told Indian
Muslims that
the new state was not intended for all Muslims but only those from east
Punjab”
(p. 30). Although this discussion is accurate, the same cannot be said
about
the author’s characterization of the leaders of the Indian Congress
party as
“visionless and arrogant” (p. 35) and his depiction of Jinnah as
someone who
was prepared for “an honorable compromise” (p. 35). The veracity of
this
characterization can certainly be challenged and it has, in fact, been
challenged by the late Rafiq Zakaria in his book The Man
Who Divided India.
A considerable part of this book
is taken up discussing the rule of Pakistan
by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and the events leading to the ascension of
General
Zia-ul-Haq to the top of the Pakistani leadership hierarchy. This
discussion is
both informative and absorbing. It is noted that although Bhutto was
clearly
intellectually superior to his many rivals, in the final analysis, he
had one
big flaw and this flaw led to his eventual downfall and to the rise of
General
Zia. In the author’s words “Bhutto’s fatal flaw was a refusal to share
power
within his party and without” (p. 101).
Most Americans have heard of
Pervez Musharraf who, for a while, did double duty as the military
dictator and
the “elected” president of Pakistan.
This book does a good job of pointing out that initially, hopes of
Musharraf
were high because “[c]lientalism, patronage and corruption on a
gigantic scale
were the hallmarks of [the] weak regimes...” of the previous two
civilian
leaders Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif (p. 134). We learn that
although
Musharraf initially gave considerable freedom to the media, when this
media
challenged his actions, he began to impose ever increasing strictures
on them.
Ultimately, Musharraf turned out to be no better than any of the
previous
military dictators who have, unfortunately, ruled Pakistan
for extended periods of time.
The author’s discussion of the 1999
Kargil war between India
and Pakistan
is
incomplete. Specifically, he fails to point out that despite being the
victim
of unprovoked attacks by Pakistani troops and irregulars, the Indian
army never
crossed the actual line of control (LOC) and hence, in effect, they
“boxed”
with one arm tied behind their back. Had they, in fact, crossed the LOC
then
the duration of this war would have been shorter and Musharraf’s
“stupid idea”
(p. 141) would have looked even more stupid because Pakistani losses
would have
been far greater. In addition, on page 152 the author incorrectly
claims that
in December 1999, an Indian Airlines plane on its way to Kandahar
was hijacked. The plane was not on its way to Kandahar. Instead, this
plane was
diverted and hijacked to Kandahar.
The ways in which Pakistan has
been and continues to be in the “flight path” of American power are
thoughtfully talked about by the author. He makes three points about
the
genesis of this state of affairs. First, he notes that beginning with
Jinnah,
the new rulers of Pakistan “developed an early communal awareness that
to
survive they had to rent their country” (p. 195). Second, he points out
that
despite this attitude, the U.S. was frequently indifferent to Pakistani
requests for military and/or political assistance. This was because the
U.S.,
Britain, and the former Soviet Union “agreed that the single most
important
country in the region was India” (p. 197). Finally, he believes that
the early
leaders of Pakistan suffered from “a permanent ‘inferiority complex’ in
relation to India” (p. 204). Although the author’s treatment of the
material
here is perceptive, a few factual errors diminish the quality of this
discussion. For instance, on page 204 he incorrectly says that the
Indo-China
border war took place in 1959. The correct year is 1962.
In sum,
this book is a mixed bag. The discussion of domestic matters in
Pakistan is
very informative, thought provoking, and, in general, a pleasure to
read. In
contrast, the discussion of international affairs is not uniformly
praiseworthy. Although the author’s suggestions about what ought to be
done to
rescue Afghanistan and Pakistan from the downward spiral in which both
nations
now find themselves are eminently reasonable, the same cannot be said
about all
aspects of the author’s thinking about the relationship between
Pakistan and
the U.S. In addition, the occasional errors of commission and omission
detract
from the overall message of the book. These caveats notwithstanding, I
recommend this book to all those who would like to learn more about the
complex
circumstances surrounding the creation of Pakistan and how these
circumstances
have shaped both political thought in Pakistan and the western world’s
view of
this nation’s apposite role on the world stage.