"Understand?"Born in 1975 in the UK to a Pakistani father and an English mother, Alexander Khan spent his early years as a Muslim in the north of England. But at the age of three his family was torn apart when his father took him to Pakistan. Despite his desperate cries, that was the last he saw of his mother – he was told she had walked out and abandoned them; many years later he learned she was told he’d died in a car crash in Pakistan.Three years on Alex is brought back to England, but kept hidden at all times. His father disappears to Pakistan again, leaving Alex in the care of a stepmother and her cruel brother. And it is then that his troubles really begin. Seen as an outsider by both the white kids and the Pakistani kids, Alex is lost and alone.When his father dies unexpectedly, Alex is sent back to Pakistan to stay with his ‘family’ and learn to behave like a ‘good Muslim’. Now alone in a strange, hostile country, with nobody to protect him, Alex realises what it is to be truly orphaned. No one would listen. No one would help. And no one cared when he was kidnapped by men from his own family and sent to a fundamentalist Madrassa on the Afghanistan border.A fascinating and compelling account of young boy caught between two cultures, this book tells the true story of a child desperately searching for his place in the world; the tale of a boy, lost and alone, trying to find a way to repair a life shattered by the shocking event he witnessed through a crack in the door of a house in an isolated village in Pakistan.

    Fascinated with the new nuclear science, the young nation's leaders launched a nuclear energy program in 1956 and consciously interwove nuclear developments into the broader narrative of Pakistani nationalism. Then, impelled first by the 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan Wars, and more urgently by India's first nuclear weapon test in 1974, Pakistani senior officials tapped into the country's pool of young nuclear scientists and engineers and molded them into a motivated cadre committed to building the 'ultimate weapon.' The tenacity of this group and the central place of its mission in Pakistan's national identity allowed the program to outlast the perennial political crises of the next 20 years, culminating in the test of a nuclear device in 1998.Written by a 30-year professional in the Pakistani Army who played a senior role formulating and advocating Pakistan's security policy on nuclear and conventional arms control, this book tells the compelling story of how and why Pakistan's government, scientists, and military, persevered in the face of a wide array of obstacles to acquire nuclear weapons. It lays out the conditions that sparked the shift from a peaceful quest to acquire nuclear energy into a full-fledged weapons program, details how the nuclear program was organized, reveals the role played by outside powers in nuclear decisions, and explains how Pakistani scientists overcome the many technical hurdles they encountered. Thanks to General Khan's unique insider perspective, it unveils and unravels the fascinating and turbulent interplay of personalities and organizations that took place and reveals how international opposition to the program only made it an even more significant issue of national resolve.Listen to a podcast of a related presentation by Feroz Khan at the Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation.

    in PakistanOn retirement from an unusual military career Howard Leedham settled in the U.S. with his American wife and successfully flew executive jets—until he was recruited in 2003 by the State Department's airwing. Despite being British, he had the unusual skills they required, and his specific brief was to activate a fleet of antiterrorist helicopters which had been given to the Pakistan armed forces, but never properly used. This was easier said than done—he had to win over opposition from inside the State Department and in particular from their Islamabad Embassy, and also dispel the suspicions of the Pakistani Armed Forces. The helicopters were released and brought up to the high standard of mechanical and operational maintenance required. He had to get past the closed door of the appropriate Pakistani general—which he did by offering to stand outside the general's bathroom and outline his plans. He was given command of a team of Pathan soldiers to train in Special Forces tactics and helicopter skills—they became an amazingly loyal team and the book describes in detail several very successful discreet operations. Howard had to do all this while under great personal threat, unable to tell who friend and who was foe, even among his own troops. This book recounts in fascinating detail the successes and failures of an unusual military operation in one of the most inhospitable and turbulent environments in the world.

    The historiography of Pakistan has been missing such a comprehensive survey of not only sixty-four years of the country's existence but also of the movement preceding its creation. Pakistan possesses a rich and varied history considering that it was carved out of the Indian subcontinent, one of the world's oldest civilizations. Hence the prevailing geographical, religious, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversities and complexities. The Oxford Companion to Pakistani History has attempted to provide the reader with information on a wide a spectrum of subjects as possible.A wide range of topics have been covered in the volume, from pre-Partition colonial period to post-Partition movements (religious, political, cultural etc.), peoples and places, culture, architecture, politics, military, economics, linguistics, archaeology, judiciary, art, theatre, education, foreign relations, government, media, philanthropy, civil society and several others. This is the first time that all facets of Pakistani history have been covered in one encyclopedic volume.The Companion differs from other encyclopedias in the sense that all entries have been written in an analytical, unbiased style and yet paying the keenest attention to factual details. A system of cross-referencing is available through insertion of asterisks within the text linking the entry to another headword that may appear while reading a particular entry. A subject index along with a few maps are provided at the end of the book. All these steps have been taken to render the Companion as user-friendly as possible.

    Her commitment to her countrywomen led her to aseat in Pakistan’s parliament, where she continues to fight to protect womenand girls.Shahid’s extraordinarilywarm and passionate voice provides remarkable insight on how Islamic humanismmight yet be a vehicle for progressive change in the developing world.

    

    The author has chosen an interdisciplinary approach that combines the studies in cultural anthropology, literary and historical sources, art history, andhumanistic geography. The central point of the analysis is topophilia (lit. love of place), the term used to describe the strong sense of place or identity among certain peoples and groups. In the present book, topophilia of Lahore is represented through interrelations of different types of urbanlocations, landscapes, architecture and artefacts, on the one hand, and human attitudes, rituals, and manners and customs, - on the other hand. The author's aim is to show how the historical and cultural developments of people build up the cultural landscape of the city and how the geographicalplace and space, in their turn, influence behaviour and identity of Lahore's citizens.

    Circumstances forced them to disperse and migrate towards south and eastern parts of Iranian plateau. In medieval times, they finally settled in present Balochistan where they became known as the Baloch. During their long and tortuous journey from Balashagan to Balochistan, the Baloch faced persecutions, deportations, and genocidal acts of various Persian, Arab and other regional powers. During 17th century, after dominating Balochistan culturally and politically, the Baloch carved out a nation state (the Khanate of Kalat). In 1839, the British occupied Balochistan and subsequently it was divided into various parts. In the wake of the British withdrawal from India in 1947, Balochistan regained its sovereignty but soon Pakistan occupied it in 1948. The historical account of the Baloch is the story of a pastoralist nomadic people from ancient times to mid-twentieth century. The author outlines the origin of the Baloch state and its variegated history of survival against powerful neighbors such as the Persians, the British and finally, Pakistan. This fascinating research work discovers the background of the long drawn-out conflict between the Baloch and Pakistan and Iranian states.

    Read together, these stories about the common people in Pakistani villages paint the most succinct picture of Pakistan’s rural culture and are the best sociological study of our rural society in recent times.

    Based on extensive interviews with Pakistanis living in the regions directly affected, as well as humanitarian and medical workers, this report provides new and firsthand testimony about the negative impacts US policies are having on the civilians living under drones.Real threats to US security and to Pakistani civilians exist in the Pakistani border areas now targeted by drones. It is crucial that the US be able to protect itself from terrorist threats, and that the great harm caused by terrorists to Pakistani civilians be addressed. However, in light of significant evidence of harmful impacts to Pakistani civilians and to US interests, current policies to address terrorism through targeted killings and drone strikes must be carefully re-evaluated.It is essential that public debate about US policies take the negative effects of current policies into account. First, while civilian casualties are rarely acknowledged by the US government, there is significant evidence that US drone strikes have injured and killed civilians. In public statements, the US states that there have been “no” or “single digit” civilian casualties.” It is difficult to obtain data on strike casualties because of US efforts to shield the drone program from democratic accountability, compounded by the obstacles to independent investigation of strikes in North Waziristan. The best currently available public aggregate data on drone strikes are provided by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), an independent journalist organization. TBIJ reports that from June 2004 through mid-September 2012, available data indicate that drone strikes killed 2,562-3,325 people in Pakistan, of whom 474-881 were civilians, including 176 children. TBIJ reports that these strikes also injured an additional 1,228-1,362 individuals. Where media accounts do report civilian casualties, rarely is any information provided about the victims or the communities they leave behind. This report includes the harrowing narratives of many survivors, witnesses, and family members who provided evidence of civilian injuries and deaths in drone strikes to our research team. It also presents detailed accounts of three separate strikes, for which there is evidence of civilian deaths and injuries, including a March 2011 strike on a meeting of tribal elders that killed some 40 individuals. Second, US drone strike policies cause considerable and under-accounted-for harm to the daily lives of ordinary civilians, beyond death and physical injury. Drones hover twenty-four hours a day over communities in northwest Pakistan, striking homes, vehicles, and public spaces without warning. Their presence terrorizes men, women, and children, giving rise to anxiety and psychological trauma among civilian communities. Those living under drones have to face the constant worry that a deadly strike may be fired at any moment, and the knowledge that they are powerless to protect themselves. These fears have affected behavior. The US practice of striking one area multiple times, and evidence that it has killed rescuers, makes both community members and humanitarian workers afraid or unwilling to assist injured victims. Some community members shy away from gathering in groups, including important tribal dispute-resolution bodies, out of fear that they may attract the attention of drone operators. Some parents choose to keep their children home, and children injured or traumatized by strikes have dropped out of school. Waziris told our researchers that the strikes have undermined cultural and religious practices related to burial, and made family members afraid to attend funerals. In addition, families who lost loved ones or their homes in drone strikes now struggle to support themselves.Third, publicly available evidence that the strikes have made the US safer overall is ambiguous at best. The strikes have certainly killed alleged combatants and disrupted armed actor networks. However, serious concerns about the efficacy and counter-productive nature of drone strikes have been raised. The number of “high-level” targets killed as a percentage of total casualties is extremely low—estimated at just 2%. Furthermore, evidence suggests that US strikes have facilitated recruitment to violent non-state armed groups, and motivated further violent attacks. As the New York Times has reported, “drones have replaced Guantánamo as the recruiting tool of choice for militants.” Drone strikes have also soured many Pakistanis on cooperation with the US and undermined US-Pakistani relations. One major study shows that 74% of Pakistanis now consider the US an enemy.Fourth, current US targeted killings and drone strike practices undermine respect for the rule of law and international legal protections and may set dangerous precedents. This report casts doubt on the legality of strikes on individuals or groups not linked to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and who do not pose imminent threats to the US. The US government’s failure to ensure basic transparency and accountability in its targeted killing policies, to provide necessary details about its targeted killing program, or adequately to set out the legal factors involved in decisions to strike hinders necessary democratic debate about a key aspect of US foreign and national security policy. US practices may also facilitate recourse to lethal force around the globe by establishing dangerous precedents for other governments. As drone manufacturers and officials successfully reduce export control barriers, and as more countries develop lethal drone technologies, these risks increase.In light of these concerns, this report recommends that the US conduct a fundamental re-evaluation of current targeted killing practices, taking into account all available evidence, the concerns of various stakeholders, and the short and long-term costs and benefits. A significant rethinking of current US targeted killing and drone strike policies is long overdue. US policy-makers, and the American public, cannot continue to ignore evidence of the civilian harm and counter-productive impacts of US targeted killings and drone strikes in Pakistan.This report also supports and reiterates the calls consistently made by rights groups and others for legality, accountability, and transparency in US drone strike policies:• The US should fulfill its international obligations with respect to accountability and transparency, and ensure proper democratic debate about key policies. The US should:o Release the US Department of Justice memoranda outlining the legal basis for US targeted killing in Pakistan;o Make public critical information concerning US drone strike policies, including as previously and repeatedly requested by various groups and officials: the targeting criteria for so-called “signature” strikes; the mechanisms in place to ensure that targeting complies with international law; which laws are being applied; the nature of investigations into civilian death and injury; and mechanisms in place to track, analyze and publicly recognize civilian casualties;o Ensure independent investigations into drone strike deaths, consistent with the call made by Ben Emmerson, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism in August 2012;o In conjunction with robust investigations and, where appropriate, prosecutions, establish compensation programs for civilians harmed by US strikes in Pakistan.• The US should fulfill its international humanitarian and human rights law obligations with respect to the use of force, including by not using lethal force against individuals who are not members of armed groups with whom the US is in an armed conflict, or otherwise against individuals not posing an imminent threat to life. This includes not double-striking targets as first responders arrive.o Journalists and media outlets should cease the common practice of referring simply to “militant” deaths, without further explanation. All reporting of government accounts of “militant” deaths should include acknowledgment that the US government counts all adult males killed by strikes as “militants,” absent exonerating evidence. Media accounts relying on anonymous government sources should also highlight the fact of their single-source information and of the past record of false government reports.

    Deploying a variety of methodological and disciplinary techniques, the volume discusses changing contours and notions of territoriality, migrations, and diaspora; language and literary cultures; colonial experience; religious identities; Sikh studies and identity; cultural and religious syncretism; and middle class and urban spaces; conversion and politics of difference. Through a careful analyses of aspects of Punjabi social, cultural, political, and religious history, it explores areas like mentalities and social texts, symbols and cultural representations, elite and popular cultures, social codes and their performance and reception.This book will interest scholars, students, and researchers of history, particularly modern India, as well as sociology and cultural studies.

    But we are still surrounded by flows of paper with enormous consequences. In the planned city of Islamabad, order and disorder are produced through the ceaseless inscription and circulation of millions of paper artifacts among bureaucrats, politicians, property owners, villagers, imams (prayer leaders), businessmen, and builders. What are the implications of such a thorough paper mediation of relationships among people, things, places, and purposes? Government of Paper explores this question in the routine yet unpredictable realm of the Pakistani urban bureaucracy, showing how the material forms of postcolonial bureaucratic documentation produce a distinctive political economy of paper that shapes how the city is constructed, regulated, and inhabited. Files, maps, petitions, and visiting cards constitute the enduring material infrastructure of more ephemeral classifications, laws, and institutional organizations. Matthew S. Hull develops a fresh approach to state governance as a material practice, explaining why writing practices designed during the colonial era to isolate the government from society have become a means of participation in it.

    Swallows wheel and dive silently over the branches, and the scent of jasmine threads through the air. Pomegranates hang heavy, their skins darkening to a deep crimson. Neglected now, the trees are beginning to grow wild, their fruit left to spoil on the branches.Many miles away, a frail young man is flung out of prison gates. Looking up, scanning the horizon for swallows in flight, he stumbles and collapses in the roadside dust. His ravaged body tells the story of fifteen years of brutality.Just one image has held and sustained him through the dark times -- the thought of the young girl who had left him dumbstruck with wonder all those years ago, whose eyes were lit up with life.A tale of tenderness in the face of great and corrupt power, In The Orchard, The Swallows is a heartbreaking novel written in prose of exquisite stillness and beauty.

    He lived in India in the twilight years of the British Empire and, apart from a short but significant period studying in the West, he remained in Punjab until his death in 1938. The book studies Iqbal's critique of nationalist ideology, and his attempts to chart a path for the development of the "nation" by liberating it from the centralizing and homogenizing tendencies of the modern state structure. These were highly relevant and often controversial issues during the years leading up to independence, and Iqbal frequently clashed with his contemporaries over his view of nationalism as "the greatest enemy of Islam." In rejecting post-Enlightenment conceptions of religion, he constructed his own particular interpretation of Islam that would provide solutions to all political, social, and economic ills. In many ways, his vision of Islam - forged through an interaction with Muslim thinkers and Western intellectual traditions - was ahead of its time, and since his death both modernists and Islamists have continued to champion his legacy.

    We look above, and contemplate deep space, the heavens: What is up there? At the shore, too, we peer upon the breaking waves, and we shiver: What is down there? There are animals unimaginable, some of the very biggest on earth and some of the very smallest. Now from the editors who have already produced Wonders of Life and Heaven on Earth-as well as the recent volume The Titanic, One Century Later- comes a new, oversized hardcover book on our undersea world. In these pages is the best-ever oceanic photography, much of it taken from deep-sea submersibles. Friends of LIFE include such as the artistic wizards Joel Meyerowitz, Michael Melford and Fred Bavendam, and the adventuring scientist Robert Ballard; their work is represented here. Beautiful flora as well as incredible fauna is featured. We dive to the deep-sea vents, which nurture animals too freaky to be believed. We swim with, and learn about, the dolphins and manatees. The horror and sublimity of the sea is fully captured in this book, in dramatic narrative as well as pictures. Of course we deal with whales and sharks, but also with shipwrecks, and the tales behind them. There is the natural history of the sea-where did it come from, what is its future?-and also the story of man's interaction with the oceans, from Noah to Herman Melville to Jacques Cousteau to the Japanese tsunami. In these pages, LIFE descends into the watery depths, and presents an altogether mesmerizing tale.

    and dreaming of the day she'll meet her one true love. Except her parents have other plans. In Pakistan for the summer, Zeba's world is shattered. Her future is threatened by an unthinkable - and forced - duty to protect her father's honour.