Pakistan After Musharraf Democracy Terror And The Building Of A Nation

"In August 2008, Pervez Musharraf stood down as Pakistan's President having already resigned the posts of Chief of Army Staff and Prime Minister. It marked the end of a dictatorial rule that began when he seized power in a military coup in 1999, which started with idealism but ended in corruption. It became yet another example of the never-ending cycle of army intervention interspersed with badly run democratic governments that have blighted Pakistan's political history. Author Iftikhar Malik, whose field of expertise is South Asian history and the politics of contemporary Muslim society, discusses why this pattern has had such a hold on Pakistan's political history. He sets out to discover whether this cycle can be broken and where hope lies for the future. Following an in-depth look at Pakistan's political and social history and the current situation, the book considers: the power of individual personalities and dynasties such as the Bhuttos; Pakistan's pivotal role in the region and Western interventions with particular reference to the war on terror; the legacy of Partition and the Punjab; the role of the middle classes in a Muslim state; the rise of Political Islam within Pakistan; the way forward for a pluralistic state caught between civic and military imperatives; and finally, the prospects for the future."--Publisher description.