Book review : A political history of Pakistan, 1947-2007

Belokrenitsky and Moskalenko (both, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow) provide a concise political history of Pakistan from its creation in 1947 to 2007. The chapters are chronologically organized, covering major events during discrete periods. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the forces leading to the partition of the subcontinent and creation of Pakistan; chapter 2 documents the events leading to the military coup in 1958; and chapter 3, the rule of the generals, namely the Ayub Khan administration. Chapter 4 documents the trials and tribulations of Z. A. Bhutto’s civilian administration; chapter 5 provides a good description of the decade-long rule of General Zia ul-Haq. Chapter 6 covers the democratic interregnum from 1988 to 1999. Chapter 7 succinctly discusses the forces leading to the military coup that
brought Pervez Musharraf to power, including the domestic and foreign policies adopted during his tumultuous rule. The authors’ discussion of the relations between Pakistan and the USSR, and now Russia, is a major strength of this important study.