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To Live Or To Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years In Pakistan (2009)

by Nicholas Schmidle(Favorite Author)

3.73 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0805089381 (ISBN13: 9780805089387)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Henry Holt and Co.

review 1: A good read...interesting and fast paced. He increased my interest in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Enlightened me as to the struggles in Baluchistan and introduced key players from the past and the present.I appreciate that he presented the characters as humans and not as caricatures. It is helpful for all to realize that these are human beings who believe that they are doing what is best for their people. This does not justify their actions or give them immunity from justice but seeing life from their perspectives helps us to appreciate the complexities of life and better understand the world. I don't know how either country, Pakistan and Afghanistan, can function with so many radicals on the loose. The obvious corruption of the Pakistani government and the mili... moretary is appalling. The idea of suspending the Constitution and imprisoning Justices to protect ones position is very third world. It is a shame that such a gifted people have been saddled with such a burden. May the future bring the people of all three nations peace and prosperity...
review 2: This young American risked his life exploring Pakistan (and Bangladesh). Some time ago a French magazine had a searing headline labeling Pakistan as the ‘most dangerous country on the planet’. Mr. Schmidle does not disprove this. Beyond a doubt (as other books have also done) Mr. Schmidle demonstrates that the Taliban use the North West Frontier province as their fiefdom – this with the active support of Pakistan’s ISI. This double game of supporting radical Islamists is starting to catch up with the Pakistani government itself as it becomes the target of these extremists. The Pakistani government is being encroached upon more and more – witness for instance the seizure of the Red mosque in Islamabad, the capital city.Pakistan appears to contain several competing states within it. Balochistan has its own independence movement. As mentioned the FATA areas are administered in some areas by Taliban proxy governments and the Pakistani army ventures there only sporadically. The author describes riots in Karachi where the police were unable to intervene against armed groupsRadical Islam permeates the entire country – the government is compromising itself by constantly seeking accommodation with it. Both Pakistan and Bangladesh started as secular states (Bangladesh seceded from Pakistan in 1971). Hinduism is barely tolerated in Bangladesh. Unfortunately the secularists are the upper classes and do not have the power or numbers to effectively deal with Islamists. I also imagine many of them are choosing to leave. It is an exciting but also a sad book because Pakistan is obviously disintegrating and where this will lead is anyone’s guess. Most of the interviews conducted by Mr. Schmidle were with men – Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. The author was ‘forced’ to leave by cryptic messages from mysterious government agencies. It almost seems that Pakistan is as far removed from Western democratic values (and human rights) as can be imagined. less

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