Since independence
South Asian history after 1947, including 1965 and 1971.
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Eye in the Sky. Pakistan and Cold War Aerial Reconnaissance
Hamid Hussain’s long 2010 essay on US reconnaissance flights from Pakistan during the Cold War, from high-altitude U-2 surveillance onward, sent to his mailing list after readers asked for it…
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The Role of the Ahmediyya Movement in Kashmir
Hamid Hussain’s essay on the little-known role of the Ahmadiyya movement in Kashmir and Pakistan history, offered as an outcome of background research done while writing a piece on recent…
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Review: The Army and Democracy by Aqil Shah
A review of Aqil Shah’s The Army and Democracy, supplied by Major Amin, who agrees with the thesis but disputes Shah’s view of Jinnah, arguing that the 1916 Lucknow Pact…
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Book Review: The 1965 War by Shaukat Riza
Major Agha H Amin reviews Major General Shaukat Riza’s officially sponsored 1984 history of the 1965 war, judging it sanitised and uncritical but valuable for its orders of battle and…
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Obituary: Brigadier Nisar Ahmed SJ
Hamid Hussain’s obituary of Brigadier Nisar Ahmad Khan (1920 to 2019), a Patiala-born officer who opted for Pakistan in 1947 and was central to an armoured holding action in the…
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Letter of General Akhtar Malik (Re Grand Slam)
A 1967 letter in which General Akhtar Hussain Malik gives his account of why he lost command during Operation Grand Slam in 1965, introduced with a short note on the…
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Direct Participants Remember the 1977 Zia Coup
Major Agha H Amin’s collected recollections from retired officers who took part in or observed General Zia’s July 1977 coup, including Brigadier Warraich’s account of being taken into confidence only…
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Why did Bhutto Select Zia as Chief
An extract from Major Agha Amin’s 2001 interview with Major General Nuk Babar on why Zulfikar Ali Bhutto chose Zia as army chief, citing his feigned humility, flattery and displays…
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India After Gandhi: $1.99 Kindle Deal
A note that Ramachandra Guha’s India After Gandhi is a $1.99 Kindle deal in the US, acknowledging its critics but judging the revised and updated book worth reading at some…
