Author

Born

in India, immigrated to Pakistan in

1947, settled in Karachi.
Military statesman, President of Islamic
Republic of Pakistan and chief of Army
Staff of the Pakistan Army.
Releases the book while in office, argues
the book sell best when one is at the peak.

Organization
Beginning
Life

in the Army
Hijacking Drama
Rebuilding the Nation
The War on Terror

Beginning:
These were troubled times. These were
momentous times. There was the light of
freedom; there was the darkness of genocide. It
was the dawn of hope; it was the twilight of
empire. It was a tale of two countries in the
making.

The story throttles through his childhood leaving no

rooms for memories that shaped his character.
However he pauses on several points to stress his anti
Indian credentials. Eg Train to Pakistan, Embassy
Promise.
Describes events in entirety where he admits to have
little remembrance.

Beginning:
Depicts

the hero in himself, who never

backed off under any circumstances.
..the lesson I learned was that if you call a
bullys bluff, he crumbles. The secret is to stand
your ground for a few seconds, and your initial
fright vanishes. This lesson later stood in good
stead as a commando

Emphasizes

character.

his family position and

Beginning:
Likes

to portray himself as an athlete.

athletically I became a jack-of-all-trades,

competing in gymnastics, cross-country
running, bodybuilding and athletics. I was fourth
in cross country, was the top gymnast, and was
third in the Mr. FC college bodybuilding
competition. All in all I earned the most
certificates,
pictures in the folio.

Brags

about his teenage romantic affairs.

Life in the army:

Portrays

his excellence by reflecting the facts

that he did well not only in the entrance exams
but also underwent training successfully.
I did well in the PMA and was one of the top
cadets in my course, and one of the ten sword
carriers.
Tried to show himself as a born leader, by
depicting on the facts that he was better and
more capable than his peers.
Gives elaborate description of the wars he
fought and the responsibilities he shouldered.

The conspiracy
PM

Nawaz Sharif dismisses him and

promotes Ziauddin as the new army chief.
Musharraf believes the reasons might be :

PM wanted to have a more reliable general for

the next elections.
PM thought that Pervezs demotion would
please Indians and Americans( aftermath of
Kargil)
PM feared a coup by Pervez himself.

Plane to Pakistan
October

12,1999, 6:45 P.M while arriving

from Colombo he was denied permission to
land in anywhere in Pakistan.

At

But lights at Karachi airport were shut off and 3

fire trucks were blocking the runway. It was
evident the P.M. Nawab Sarif didn't want me to
land in Pakistan

7:30 in evening they got the message

that they can land in Karachi. The army had
taken control of the airport and had imposed
house arrest on PM Sharif.

Plane to Pakistan
Gives

a detailed minute to minute account of

the event.
Poses himself as a calm commander under
stress.
Views this as a plot to leave the military head
of Pakistan in the hands of its biggest enemy
(India).

Pakistan First
Views

himself as a greater democrat than he is

believed to be.
He believed that no nation can progress without
democracy, but democracy had to be tailored
according to the nations need and environment
Publicizes his efforts to revive democracy in his
nation.
In the name of reforming the Pakistans democracy,
Musharraf formed the National Security Council
(NSC), a body that would be chaired by the
President

Efforts
His

goal was to reduce expenditures. He cut the

budget, froze the defense budget and appointed
able people to lead all government enterprises.
Soon the enterprises started giving profits.
He decided to broaden the tax base.
He gave importance to the blooming IT and
Telecom industries.
As a result of all these reforms, Pakistan for the first
time in its history saw a downward turn in poverty
and unemployment.

The War on Terror

One

day that changed the world

Omar and Osama
Man Hunt (Bin Laden)
Tightening the Noose
The Symbiosis of Terrorism and Religion

One day that changed the world(9/11)

America

exerted a lot of pressure on Pakistan and

Musharraf as Pakistan was the only country
maintaining diplomatic relations with the Afghans
and Bin Laden was suspected to be hiding in
Afghanistan.

"In what has to be the most undiplomatic statement ever

made, Armitage . . . told the director general not only that
we had to decide whether we were with America or with the
terrorists, but that if we chose the terrorists, then we should
be prepared to be bombed back to the Stone Age.
It conduced the feeling that this chapter was addressed
towards the people of Pakistan who were agitated with his
decision to support America.

Omar and Osama

Cites

how Omar and Osama rose to

power and the why Pakistan had to
support Talibans because of Northern
Alliance (supported by Russia, Iran, India)
The emphasis was on barbarism of
Talibans under Omar and how Pakistan
tried in vain to convince Omar to drive
Osama out of Afghanistan.

Man Hunt (Al Qaeda Terrorists)

Details

of the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl and

how Omar sheikh who was involved in the
kidnapping was caught and interrogated and
finally how they tracked down Khalid sheikh
Mohammad (Al Qaedas number three) the
person who killed Daniel Pearl.
Details of some of 689 arrests of Al-Qaida
suspects in Pakistan are listed and Pakistans
efforts to catch Osama who according to
Musharraf is moving back and forth across the
Pakistan-Afghanistan border somewhere.

Tightening the Noose

Details

on how he tracked down terrorists

who attacked him, first attack was master
minded by Amjad Faruqi and the second
by Abu Faraj al-Libbi. Amjad was killed in
an encounter and Libbi was arrested.
It was more like a story from a Detective
novel containing nothing but the details of
investigation.

The Symbiosis of Terrorism and Religion

Had we not joined the jihad against soviets and had they
not pulled out of Afghanistan, would the cold war be over
yet? We did what Napolean and Hitler could not do; we
defeated Russia !!
If you take Pakistan out of the picture, the jihad would
never have been won. On the other hand, if you take the
United State out, one never knows !!
This chapter emphasized on the need to eradicate
religious extremism from Pakistan as all the terrorist
organizations motivate innocent and illiterate people with
extreme religious sentiments.

Organization
Priorities

: War on Terror 82 pages,

Kargil chapter 12 pages, though he was
the chief architect in latter case.
Speaks about the trouble between India
and Pakistan in 2002 but misses the
attack on Indian Parliament in 2001
completely.

Organization
Contains

a 16 page collection of photographs.

The first three pages Dec 2003 assassination
attempt. Self Depiction as a victim of terrorism.
Shows clips to refute Nawaz sharifs claim that
he wasnt informed of the preparations for Kargil.
Projects himself with the great leaders of the
world.

Focus and Development

The

book is for two audience mainly

western and domestic.
Says he saved Pakistan from disaster, and
the world from more Taliban Al Quaeda
attacks.
Tries to rationalize Pakistans capitulation
to US pressure.
Stresses his anti Indian credentials.eg
Train to Pakistan, Indian promise.

Comments
Facts

are viewed in self delusion. Eg

Kargil was no victory, Pakistan had to
vacate territory losing men for nothing.
Progress in the bilateral dialogue "is owed
considerably to the Kargil conflict."
Writes in a self complimentary manner.
Tries to belittle peers