In the Line of Fire Essay Example for Free

In the ocellus of Fire EssayAuthor. Pervez Musharraf 3. Chapters 22 4. Pages 237 5. Price. Not Known 6. Year of Pub 2006 Introduction 7. With the publication of his memoir, In the margin of Fire, Pervez Musharraf has virtually launched his campaign for the next presidential election referable towards the end of 2007. Through the mean(a) of this book he intends to convey to the people of Pakistan what he has accomplished for his country, and to the world community, how he has endeavored to counter the forces of extremism and obscurantism that substantiate brought bad name to Pakistan. About The Author 8. The title, In the Line of Fire, serves to project Musharrafs image as a bold and courageous attraction of a country beset by innumerable privileged and external difficulties and threats. The idea is to make him appear as a man of crisis and saviour of the nation ,a leader who salvaged the sinking ship of Pakistan. SUMMARY Of THE BOOK 9. Divided into six parts and thirty-tw o chapters, In the Line of Fire contains a Prologue and an Epilogue. Inclusive of Index, the book is spread over three coke and fifty-two pages, and contains several memorable photographs. 10.The books part one, In the Beginning, comprises chapters 1 to 5 and is commit to Musharrafs early life and youthful years. a. The chapter 1. Entitled same as Khushwant Singhs noteworthy novel, Train to Pakistan, opens with the words These were troubled times. These were momentous times. There was the light of freedom in that location was the darkness of genocide. It was the penetrate of commit it was the twilight of empire. (p. 11) Any student of English literature would immediately gather that the source of frenzy for this paragraph is Charles Dickens classic A Tale of Two Cities.Set in the background of the cut Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities begins thus It was the stovepipe of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the su ccession of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair . . . . b. Chapter 2. The Chapter 2 Settling in Karachi, narrates the story of caparison and other problems faced by Musharrafs family in their new homeland.Representing the ordeal of nearly every Mohajir household, Musharraf states new(prenominal) uprooted members of our family assorted aunts and uncles and cousins came to live with us. At one time there were eighteen of us sprightliness in those two rooms. (p. 15) Ultimately, Musharrafs family settles down, and he as an uprooted little boy found undercoat that was natural to him. He in like mannerk root in it forever. (p. 18) There is the commitment emanating from the innermost depth of his heart I would protect that earth with my life. (p. 8) This represents the crisis of Mohajir identity preoccupation with the search for roots after(prenominal) having bee n uprooted, and a desire to monopolize patriotism. c. Chapter 3. In chapter 3, bomb The Formative Years, Musharraf talks about his adolescent years in that country where his father was affix in Pakistans embassy. It was here that he developed admiration for the founder of modern Turkey With the go on of the Ottoman caliphate, Mustafa Kemal had saved Turkey from balkanization and modernized it by dragging it out of dogma and obscurantism. (p. 9) Ataturk is the role model, Musharraf is in search of his footsteps but the terrain is entirely different. As if to prove that his family was not obscurantist, the author says, Both my p atomic number 18nts loved medicament and dancing, especially ballroom dancing, (p. 20) He seems to be conscious of the controversy that was created by the photograph in which he was carrying two puppies, as he reminds, My love of dogs began in Turkey. (p. 24). d. Chapter4. The chapter 4. Home, describes his life back in Pakistan where maiden Musharrafs family took residence in Nazimabad Block 3.Here a boy had to be street-smart to survive. There were the necessary street gangs, and needless to say, I joined one. Needless to say, too, I was one of the tough boys. (p. 26). While living in this Mohajir neighbourhood, Musharraf relates with pride that he thrashed a bully and became known as a dada geer (p. 27). The discernible subscriber would not fail to observe the authors mental affinity to the stuff from which the MQM was to emerge. perchance Musharraf feels that without reference to some love affairs the story of his youthful years would remain in completed and barren.So one finds mention of a couple of superficial love affairs. e. Chapter5. The next chapter, Leaving the Nest, takes the reader to Musharrafs college years where he got his first experience in public speaking as a candidate in the election for class representative. (p. 32) Musharraf also got introduced to Tariq Aziz who was destined to become his principal secre tary after he became president and was later to be appointed secretary to the National Security Council. It was also in the FC College that he learned how to make a time bomb, which I later used as a commando to good effect. (p. 33). f. Chapter 6. The part two, Life in the Army, chapter 6, The Potters Wheel, is devoted to the authors life in Pakistan Military Academy (PMA). Musharraf is all praise for the PMA, and describes it as the best in the world (p. 41). This is the beginning of his lifetime love with the institution of the armed forces. Here one happening took place that in all probability became significant in the future I was one of four candidates short-listed to go to Sandhurst, England, to complete my training, but another cadet, Ali Kuli Khan Khattak, was selected.He retired as a lieutenant frequent and chief of general staff when I became army chief, but I suspect that his retirement, which was optional, had more to do with disappointment at not becoming chief himse lf, which is perfectly understandable. (p. 41) . A little circumspection and Musharraf could take hold skipped the mention of in a higher place incident. g. Chapter 7. In chapter 7, Into the Fire, Musharraf gives account of his valiant contribution to the India-Pakistan War of 1965, which earned him an award for gallantry.He could have earned two awards but due to certain act of indiscipline court-martial proceedings were to be taken against him, which were dropped as a reward for his performance in the war. The author is silent about the cognitive process Gibraltar and Operation Grand Slam that had provoked India to attack Pakistan in the early hours of September 6, 1965. His comments on the developments front the war would have enhanced the value of the book. h. Chapter 8. In chapter 8, Life in the Fire, Musharraf makes a spate of criticism of Z. A. Bhutto.In his zeal for Bhutto-bashing, Musharraf makes an absurd point that instead of becoming chief martial righteousness ad ministrator Bhutto could have reverted to the Constitution of 1956 with amendments to the clauses that pertained to East Pakistan. (p. 57) He conveniently ignores that Yahya Khan had done away with genius Unit with effect from July 1, 1970, and elections for four separate provincial assemblies had been held in December 1970. i. Chapter 9. The chapter 9, Living through the unutterable Decade, is primarily an indictment of the civilian facade, 1988-1999 Never in the history of Pakistan had we seen such a compounding of the worst kind of governance or rather, a nearly total lack of governance along with corruption and the plunder of national wealth. During these eleven years, every army chief there were four of them in conclusion clashed with the prime minister. The head of the government invariably got on the wrong side of the president and the army chief. Advice to Nawaz Sharif or Benazir Bhutto fell on deaf ears, leading every time to a confrontation. (p. 78). j. Chapter 10.In chapter 10, From top dog to Chief executive, Musharraf relates the story of his becoming the army chief and not chief executive of the country as the title wrongly suggests. This glaring mistake cannot be condoned in a book meant for high calibre audience. Musharraf gives some detail of the conflict between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the one hand and chair Farooq Leghari and Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah on the other. He accuses Nawaz Sharif of sending his party goons to storm the Supreme Court mental synthesis while the court was in session. . Chapter 11. In chapter 11, The Kargil Conflict, Musharraf gives his side of the Kargil story. He stresses that the Kargil operartion was just one in a series of moves and counter-moves at tactical take aim by India and Pakistan along the Line of Control in Northern Areas. (p. 87). According to him the Indians could have possibly used the reportedly increasing activities of the mujahideen as a casus belli to launch operation against the positions of Pakistan armed forces.He states, We knew that thousands of mujahideen, mostly indigenous to Indian-held Kashmir but also supported by freelance sympathizers from Pakistan, did operate against the Indian forces. (p. 88) l. Chapter 12. The part three, The Hijacking Drama, chapter 12, Plane to Pakistan, contains detail of what happened on scorecard flight PK 805, which was bringing Musharraf back to Karachi from Colombo. Musharraf accuses Nawaz Sharif of not allowing his flight to land in Karachi even if it had to be deviate to Bombay, Oman, Abu Dhabi or Bandar Abbas. The reason I had been dismissed and Ziauddin had been made the chief.Obviously, Nawaz Sharif did not want me around to counter his unlawful action. (p. 107) m. Chapter 13. In chapter 13, The Conspiracy, Musharraf charges Nawaz Sharif of staging a coup against him. According to Musharraf, It was a gross misuse and peculation of the law you cannot summarily dismiss the army chief, a constitutional app ointee, without giving him just cause and affording him due process. (p. 109) n. Chapter 14 The chapter 14, The Countercoup, describes how the loyalists of Musharraf managed to thwart the alleged plan of Nawaz Sharif and removed him from power. . Chapter 15. In chapter 15, Anatomy of Suicide, Musharraf tries to explain why Nawaz Sharif took the decision to remove him. He refers to various irritants that had developed between him and the prime minister. He conjectures, It could be that such affronts on my part made the prime minister realize his folly in selecting me for my position. He had probably thought that being the son of immigrant parents, I would acquiesce in his demands ___ that I would feel insecure and unguarded and do his bidding. He couldnt have been more wrong. . Chapter 16. In chapter 16, Pakistan First, Musharraf explains the reasons why he did not impose martial law repeating the earlier argument Our past experience had amply show that martial law damages not only military but also civilian institutions, because as the army gets superimposed on civil institutions the bureaucracy becomes dependent on army officers to make the essential decisions that they themselves should be making. I therefore decided that there would be no martial law. (p. 143). q. Chapter 17.The chapter 17, The Quest for commonwealth makes a brief and superficial survey of constitutional developments, and government and politics in Pakistan. Here too Musharraf does not spare Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto masqueraded as a democrat but ruled like an autocrat. (p. 159) Nawaz also becomes Musharrafs target This time he had a brute two-third majority in the National Assembly and could squeeze through any amendment to the constitution he wanted. He used his majority to silence dissent. He constrained the army chief out of office.He attacked the press and arrested many journalists. And he had his partys goons physically attack the Supreme Court. (p. 162) r. Chapter 18. In chapt er 18, Putting the System Right, Musharraf points out the flaws in Pakistans politico-constitutional setup, and discusses the measures that he has adopted to remove them. He primarily identifies two problems the absence of democracy at the grassroots level and the absence of effective checks and balances over the three power brokers of Pakistan the president, the prime minister and the army chief. (p. 164) s. Chapter 19. In chapter 19, Kick-Starting the providence, Musharraf presents a lot of figures to make the point that under his government there has been a revival of economy. What he conveniently ignores is the fact that since early 1990s Pakistan was facing sanctions whereas the actual starting point of revival was 9/11 when Pakistan became a US ally in its war on terror. And sanctions were lifted. It is yet to be seen if there has been any structural change in the economy or the present kick off is short-lived.The late scandal concerning the sale of Pakistan Still Mills, th e sugar crisis and uncontrollable inflationary trends are black spots on the management of Pakistans economy. The part five of the book deals with The War on Terror. t. Chapter 20. This part begins with chapter 20, angiotensin-converting enzyme Day that Changed the World, an obvious reference to 9/11. During an important meeting at the Governors House, Musharraf received the famous phone call of the US secretary of state. He recalls, Powell was quite candid You are either with us or against us. I took this as a blatant ultimatum. (p. 201). u. Chapter 21. The chapter 21, Omar and Osama, contains details about Mulla Omars and bin Ladens background and their worldview, and discusses the origin of the Taliban. Musharraf suspects that the United States did not disapprove of the Taliban phenomenon in the hope that they could bring peace to Afghanistan. (p. 211). v. Chapter 22. The chapters 22, The War Comes to Pakistan, 23, Manhunt and 24, Tightening the Noose are about the network and activities of understructure and its affiliate in Pakistan.These chapters also contain the details of Pakistani agencies operations to break terrorist network in the country. Referring to Al-Qaeda members, Musharraf boasts We have captured 689 and handed 369 to the United States. We have earned bounties totaling millions of dollars. Those who habitually accuse us of not doing equal in the war on terror should simply ask the CIA how much prize money it has remunerative to the government of Pakistan. (p. 237).