- Writer: Najam Sethi
- Category: Politics Books
- Pages: 653
- Stock: In Stock
- Model: STP-9225
- ISBN: 978-969-402-653-4
Both Benazir Bhutto
and Nawaz Sharif didn't acquit themselves well in the "trial of
democracy" from 1988 to 1993. They did worse confronting the "dilemma of
democracy" from 1993-1999 - how an elected government can complete its
five year term and also provide a level playing field to the
"government-in-waiting" to turn the tables at the end of the period. In
consequence, Pakistan was driven straight into the jaws of martial law
in 1999.
This volume traces the rise and fall of the second
Bhutto regime from 1993-96. It records how, through the good offices of
the Establishment, she began on a conciliatory note with Nawaz Sharif by
offering to nominate a consensus candidate (Wasim Sajjad) as President
in exchange for jointly undoing the notorious Clause 58-2(B) of the 8th
Constitutional Amendment which hung like the sword of Damocles over
every prime minister. It tracks the negotiations to breaking point,
compelling her to nominate her "own man", Farooq Leghari, to the
Presidency. It records Nawaz Shun cunning ways to drive a wedge between
Leghari and Bhutto, which eventually led the former to use the 8th
Amendment to sack the latter.
The major policy issues that
preoccupied Benazir Bhutto in her second term were nuclear
proliferation, MQM terrorism in Karachi and conflict in Kashmir. The
book explains how the US applied economic and military sanctions to
pressure Pakistan to cap, freeze and roll back its nuclear programme but
failed to achieve its objective. It details how she successfully
tackled and put down MQM terrorism through effective use of
civil-military power. And it records how she teamed up with the military
to promote jihad in India-Occupied Kashmir.
The book is about
foul play by both Bhutto and Sharif; foreign policy blues; warlordism in
Afghanistan; mythology of Mohajirism; nuclear policy; Mehrangate;
General Mirza Aslam Beg's "grand plan"; threat of an India-Pak nuclear
war; journalists for sale; pains of privatization; Indo-Pak relations;
doctrine of necessity; corruption and Surreygate. The analysis covers
the mind of Benazir Bhutto, her Achilles heel and fatal flaws.
It
is indispensable reading for the student of history who wishes to
understand how and why democracy failed to take root in the 1990s.
| Book Attributes | |
| Pages | 653 |
