The Armed Forces of Pakistan

"The distinguished Pakistani scholar, . . . provides a work that invites comparison with the Turkish situation since before World War II." " The Journal of Military History" "The study sheds light on three domestic pressures facing Pakistan: militarization, secularization, and Islamic fundamentalism." "Middle East Journal"To the north an extended civil war in Afghanistan fuelled by arms from Russia and the US. To the west a fundamentalist Islamic region in Iran with links to international terrorism. To the northeast a secessionist guerilla war in Kashmir. To the east, India, with which Pakistan has fought two wars in forty years. In these volatile circumstances, Pakistan's armed forces continue to play an important role both internally and externally. Since their creation out of the communal violence of partition at the end of WWII, the armed forces of Pakistan have played a central role in the Pakistan state, periodically usurping the civil authority and ruling in its own right. The Armed Forces of Pakistan describes the nature of Pakistan's defense capabilities and the forces which will shape them in the twenty-first century. It surveys the forces locked in conflict over the nuclear option and examines the three internal pressures Pakistan continues to face militarization, secularization, and Islamic fundamentalism.