In August 2008, Pervez Musharraf stood down as Pakistan,sáPresident having already resigned the posts of Chief of ArmyáStaff and Prime Minister. It marked the end of a dictatorial ruleáthat began when he seized power in a military coup in 1999,áwhich started with idealism but ended in corruption. It becameáyet another example of the never-ending cycle of armyáintervention interspersed with badly run democratic governmentsáthat has blighted Pakistan,s political history.

Author Iftikhar Malik, whose field of expertise is South Asianáhistory and the politics of contemporary Muslim society,ádiscusses why this pattern has had such a hold on Pakistan,sápolitical history. He sets out to discover whether this cycle can beábroken and where hope lies for the future.

Following an in-depth look at Pakistan,s political and socialáhistory and the current situation, the book considers: the poweráof individual personalities and dynasties such as the Bhuttos;áPakistan,s pivotal role in the region and Western interventionsáwith particular reference to the ,war on terror,; the legacy ofáPartition and the Punjab; the role of the middle classes in aáMuslim state; the rise of Political Islam within Pakistan; the wayáforward for a pluralistic state caught between civic and militaryáimperatives; and finally, the prospects for the future.

Opinionated and critical, Professor Malik,s book discusses theáissues and challenges facing Pakistan at this critical juncture ináits history.