The Bear Trap

The author, then a Brigadier of the Pakistan Army, handled the Afghan bureau of Pakistan's spy agency, the ISI, during the Soviet presence in Afghanistan. Coming from an ex-spy who worked with an organisation known for secrecy, his account is surprisingly detailed. Does it also tell us how the ISI might have attempted to handle its incursions into Kashmir?

The account is straightforward, a planner-trainer-soldier's version of a momentous effort lasting a decade. But one does detect attempts to give some elements a spin. For instance, it is hard to believe that the Soviets would have indulged in such indiscriminate scorched-earth bombing of the civilian population, a stratagem that could have achieved nothing but to pit the entire population against the Soviet Army. Surely, the Soviets understood as well as anyone else that no insurgency has ever been surmounted without people's support. Having said that, I must also admit - in contradiction to my own disbelief! - that the record of Pakistan's Army in Waziristan has been no different. So, perhaps there is enough room for making such obvious strategic errors.

The Soviets come across as less than competent, which is perhaps rather harsh. The Soviet soldier was poorly paid and kitted, tells the author, and a far cry from the resolute patriot that defended Leningrad. This was a war he did not identify with.

The mujahideen emerge as extraordinarily brave, capable of suffering unimaginable privations and steeped in vengefulness. They have also been portrayed as poor strategists and extremely fractious in their efforts. Indeed, it was the weight of their disunity that eventually prevented the fall of Kabul.

The CIA is painted as an agency focussed on ensuring that the Soviets were repaid for Vietnam - and eventually succeeded in that goal. They supplied billions of dollars worth of weapons and equipment, mostly purchased from other countries - including China - and eventually relented to supply a weapon that arguably triggered the Soviet withdrawal - the Stinger anti-aircraft missile. But the Americans too do not come unscathed at Mohammad Yousaf's hands; they lacked understanding of the ground realities, the author tells us.

General Zia also comes across as a scheming but small-minded leader who succumbed to US pressures and kicked the Director general of ISI General Akhtar upstairs when the Americans wanted him too, even though the moment was inopportune from the point of view of winning the war.

The two fascinating chapters in the book relate to the assassination of General Zia. The theory behind the plane crash is developed meticulously and while the author stops short of naming names, the finger is unerringly pointed at the KGB and KHAD combine, with help from within the Pakistan Army.

The other relates to the 'end' of the war. As the Soviets withdrew (under Gorbachev's tutelage, thus making him a darling of the West), it was in their interest to ensure that the mujahideen did not roll over the Communist regime of Najibullah and take over Kabul. Ironically, this was in the interest of the US too! They did not want a fundamentalist regime to assume power. They had driven the Soviets out and that was the end of their interest in the mujahideen. A speedy and smooth withdrawal of the Soviets was in their interest - that would ensure a 'victory'. The author claims that several factors magically combined to help the Americans and Soviets achieve these goals. The Director General of ISI who wanted it otherwise was replaced, the author retired, the successors were inclined to toe the US line, the huge 10000-ton arms and ammunition dump at Ojhri blew up thus choking replenishments for the mujahideen planning to launch attacks on the withdrawing Soviets and the mujahideen planned and executed a poor assault on Jalalabad, resulting in defeat at the hands of the Afghan Army.

A useful account!

The Idea of Pakistan

had the pleasure of meeting Stephen Cohen when I briefly visited Brookings at Washington, back in 2003. I needed some advice on a career in academia and I had sought audience with a few people in the US - he was one of them. In the half an hour I was with him, I heard in rapt attention as this pleasant man held forth on Kashmir and other topics - precise, knowledgeable and humorous in an understated manner. Several years later, I met him again at the Staff College where he was a visitor and I a 'teacher'.

This is a work of great scholarship. Stephen Cohen has looked at contemporary Pakistan through a microscope - and a telescope! His analysis of how the original idea of Pakistan casts a shadow on its present, the central role of the Army, the reach of Islamists, the apparent failure of the political class, the growing wave of anti-Americanism, the influence of madaris, a faltering economy that appears to be driving towards a precipice and the overall and growing lack of confidence among its people in the correctness of the direction their country is taking.

Cohen builds several scenarios and evaluated them for likelihood and desirability - status quo, Army/ authoritarian rule, full-fledged democracy, Islamist rule, break-up of the nation et al. It also discusses options that America has in dealing with its now-ally-now-headache 'friend'.

Cohen's work is extremely well researched and rings with authority. He argues that, contrary to the opinion of some, Pakistan is not about to become a failed state anytime in the near future. He is, however, not optimistic about a radical turnaround in its current (the book was written in 2004 or so but things have steadily got worse since then) status.

I was also struck by the fact that of all the future scenarios he built, 'liberal democracy' in Pakistan is considered the best for improving the India-Pakistan relations; and yet, that is among the scenarios that Cohen finds less likely to come to life. As in everything else, the Army's role casts a long and unwavering shadow on this scenario.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone having interest in contemporary Pakistan. Even if you end up only validating many of the beliefs that you have held all along, the book certainly illuminates many dark corners with great clarity and force.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The tale of Mariam and Laila, two Afghan women united by several tragic tosses of the dice, bond of common humanity and, above all, love, is a heartbreaking story. It is also a ride through the contemporary history of Afghanistan, as seen through the eyes of its powerless women.

This is master story telling – a credible tale, simply told. It hurts and uplifts at the same time. The sheer cruelty that we humans – in this case mostly men – are capable of inflicting in the name of misplaced understanding of duty, ideology, politics and, of course, religion is indescribable and so unforgivable. As I read the story, I felt the pain of a decent and warm-hearted people who are caught up in endless cycle of bloodbath. I know that emancipation of women or fostering of human rights is not among the strategic goals of the Western forces currently combating the Taliban, but having read A Thousand Splendid Suns I hope and pray that the Taliban never again return to power in this nation.

It is natural that curiosity and that natural propensity for passing judgements will drive many of us to compare this book with its predecessor offering by Khaled Hosseini. In my opinion, that exercise is neither necessary nor useful. If you were moved by The Kite Runner, be prepared for another emotional roller-coaster ride that is bound to leave you all churned up inside, yet – surprisingly – thrilled and happy.

Saturday by Ian McEwan

This is a brilliant work that can scarcely be embellished with known adjectives. The story of one Saturday in the life of Henry Perowne, a neurosurgeon, is an extraordinary and loving peek into his soul. A day that is both ordinary and extraordinary reveals the innermost recesses of the devoted family man, competitive squash player, ambivalent right-winger, thorough professional, dissolute cook and, perhaps, much else.

As the story unfolds, tracing gentle contours till it hits a bump or two, one is carried along by the marvelous and exact - but never parsimonious - prose. At every step, one can spot oneself hovering in the backdrop or even inside of Perowne himself. Surely, I too have been here before, even though, God knows, I cannot cut open brains or fish. Or do anything else that Perowne does and can.

McEwan’s book fulfills a profound criteria of greatness – it keeps the bright focus of searchlight burning inwards – our inwards – and persuades, even compels, us to come face to face with our own anxieties and fears, emotions and feelings, attitudes and perspectives. It is a moral book that perpetually nudges us to ask the critical existentialist question, “What must we do?”