He was called for his service to the motherland. He reciprocated immediately. Giving up all familial relationships, he partook in a rigorous training programme that was a true test of his heart, body, mind and soul. Fighting off his cowardly hopes of quitting the organization so as to avoid the ordeal, he was finally made battle ready. Slipped into enemy territory, his espionage attempts met with complete success. However luck soon turned against him, as during his third mission he was seized by the enemy camp and imprisoned. He was subjected to absolute third degree torture and only miraculously, and albeit divinely, escaped the contours of death on more that one occasion. But he continued to strive towards seeing his own country once again. He looked forward to coming back home. And one day, God gave him that chance. He returned to the border once again, so that he could be united with his fellow countrymen. Was the welcome given to him befitting that of a hero? Or even if not a hero’s welcome, certainly he needn’t have been treated like a blackguard, a traitor! Who was he after all a Spy, or a Soldier?

Autobiographical reminiscences of the Indian spy.

Khushwant Singh wrote in the preface to the hardbound edition published in 1990 of this true account of Mohanlal Bhaskar’s mission to find out about Pakistan’s nuclear plans: ‘He was betrayed by one of his colleagues, presumbly a double agent, and had to face the music on his own. The interrogation, which was done by the army and police, included torture of the worst kind imaginable. Many of his comrades went insane or ended their own lives. Large portions of his stories describe the methods used in gory and spine-chilling detail but there were also lighter moments with dacoits, prostitutes, pimps and dope smugglers in the same jails....’ He witnessed history unfolding from Mianwali jail: ‘... when Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was brought there, and had his grave dug and then refilled when Bhutto released him to return in truimph to Bangladesh. From his cell he watched Indian bombers and fighters knock out Pakistan’s airforce from the skies...’

Abdul Zaeef describes growing up in poverty in rural Kandahar province, which he fled for Pakistan after the Russian invasion of 1979. Zaeef joined the jihad in 1983, was seriously wounded in several encounters and met many leading figures of the resistance, including the current Taliban head, Mullah Mohammad Omar. Disgusted by the lawlessness that ensued after the Soviet withdrawal, Zaeef was one among the former mujahidin who were closely involved in the emergence of the Taliban, in 1994. He then details his Taliban career, including negotiations with Ahmed Shah Massoud and role as ambassador to Pakistan during 9/11. In early 2002 Zaeef was handed over to American forces in Islamabad and spent four and a half years in prison in Bagram and Guantanamo before being released without charge. My Life with the Taliban offers insights into the Pashtun village communities that are the Taliban's bedrock and helps to explain what drives men like Zaeef to take up arms against the foreigners who are foolish enough to invade his homeland.

FB Ali was a rising star in the Pakistan Army when, in 1969, Gen Yahya Khan, the army chief, declared martial law and took over the country. Disheartened at the direction in which Pakistan was heading, and his inability to do anything about it, he contemplated resigning, but the 1971 war with India intervened. Given an important combat command shortly before it began he witnessed firsthand how badly this disastrous war was mismanaged by the military regime and the incompetent generals it had appointed. The resulting debacle drove him to initiate and lead the army action that forced Gen Yahya Khan to hand over power to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who had won the 1970 election. The usual fate of kingmakers befell him: in 1972 he was retired from the army and a few months later arrested and tried on charges of trying to overthrow the government. Narrowly escaping a death sentence, he ended up with life imprisonment, spending over 5 years in prison before he was released following Bhutto's ouster in another military coup. Though offered a significant role in the new setup he decided to move to Canada with his family. This memoir contains an insider account of many important events of that decade, including the 1971 India-Pakistan war and the troubles in East Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh. It is also a poignant tale of courage and endurance in the face of adversity.

This is the autobiography of Abdul Salam Zaeef, a senior former member of the Taliban. His memoirs, translated from Pashto, are more than just a personal account of his extraordinary life. My Life with the Taliban offers a counter-narrative to the standard accounts of Afghanistan since 1979. Zaeef describes growing up in rural poverty in Kandahar province. Both of his parents died at an early age, and the Russian invasion of 1979 forced him to flee to Pakistan. He started fighting the jihad in 1983, during which time he was associated with many major figures in the anti-Soviet resistance, including the current Taliban head Mullah Mohammad Omar. After the war Zaeef returned to a quiet life in a small village in Kandahar, but chaos soon overwhelmed Afghanistan as factional fighting erupted after the Russians pulled out. Disgusted by the lawlessness that ensued, Zaeef was one among the former mujahidin who were closely involved in the discussions that led to the emergence of the Taliban, in 1994. Zaeef then details his Taliban career as civil servant and minister who negotiated with foreign oil companies as well as with Afghanistan's own resistance leader, Ahmed Shah Massoud. Zaeef was ambassador to Pakistan at the time of the 9/11 attacks, and his account discusses the strange "phoney war" period before the US-led intervention toppled the Taliban. In early 2002 Zaeef was handed over to American forces in Pakistan, notwithstanding his diplomatic status, and spent four and a half years in prison (including several years in Guantanamo) before being released without having been tried or charged with any offence. My Life with the Taliban offers a personal and privileged insight into the rural Pashtun village communities that are the Taliban's bedrock. It helps to explain what drives men like Zaeef to take up arms against the foreigners who are foolish enough to invade his homeland.

Indian Defence Review (IDR) is India's best-known defense journal. Over the year the journal has attained the "most quoted" status by defense and security analysts worldwide. The journal offers an incisive analysis of defense and politico-security affairs focused on Asia. In This Volume: DEMOCRACY AND SECURITY - Bharat Verma (Ed) INDIAN DEFENCE REVIEW COMMENT US POODLE OR CHINESE POODLE? - B Raman INDIAN INTELLIGENCE: The Fiddling Has to Stop... - B Raman IAF: Flying into the Future - Air Commodore Jasjit Singh DEFENCE and TECHNOLOGY MONITOR AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS - IDR Research Team BLUE PRINT FOR INDIAN AEROSAPCE INDUSTRY - Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major ENERGIZING AEROSPACE INDUSTRY: New Opportunities for Partnerships - Chris Chadwick INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS - Richard Kirkland TURBOMECA: HIGH PROFILE PRESENCE IN INDIA BEL GIVES RS.84.96 CR DIVIDEND TO GOVT EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON IN THE RACE MALABAR: Navy Tests Her Mettle - Captain Vinay Garg VARUNA 2007 THE NEW 'MAKE' PROCEDURE: A Retrograde Step - Maj Gen Mrinal Suman WARSHIP BUILDING: Cost and Time Overruns - Vice Admiral Rajeshwer Nath CHINA: Friend or Foe? - Claude Arpi MILITARY SERVICE PAY - Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi IMAGE OF THE ARMED FORCES - Group Capt AG Bewoor TIBET: The Real Issue - Maj Gen Sheru Thapliyal PUNJAB'S PAKISTAN - RSN Singh SRI LANKAN TAMILS: Anatomy of Indian Involvement - Anand K Verma NBC DISASTERS: Prevention and Management - Lt Gen Shankar Prasad PAKISTAN: A Convoluted Script - Wilson John DEFENCE UNIVERSITY FOR INDIA: An Appraisal of the Proposition - Maj Gen Mrinal Suman B Raman: BID TO ASSASSINATE BENAZIR LTTE'S ANURADHAPURA RAID JIHADI ANARCHY IN SWAT SABOTAGE IN NWFP