The fact that Asad Durrani, a former head of Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, is writing a candid book about his career demonstrates that there is a lot of truth to the cliché Pakistan is a ‘land of contradictions'. As befits an intelligence network operating in one of the world's most sensitive regions, the Inter-Services Intelligence agency's inner workings, motivations and calculations are shrouded in mystery. However, at the same time, frank memoirs are a well-worn tradition in Pakistani senior circles.
Asad Durrani, a three-star general, headed the ISI from 1990 to 1992. He later served as Pakistan's ambassador to Germany and then Saudi Arabia during 9/11 and its aftermath. Durrani's standing as one of his country's most senior military officers for the best part of three decades means that he had a front-row seat during its most critical junctures, from the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan to the US operation that killed Osama bin Laden.
Books by Pakistani generals tend to gain notice in Britain and the United States when they provide a new take on a contentious, shared historical event, such as former president Pervez Musharraf's account of his interactions with the Bush administration in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Pakistani bookshops are full of accounts by scores of lesser-known figures recounting their exploits. Pakistan Adrift sits apart from both these types of book. Without a particular axe to grind or ideological position to promote, Durrani sheds light on how the inner sanctums of the state of Pakistan actually work.
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