On the eve of the First World War, the British army consisted of the regular army, territorial forces and reserves. The recruitment of regular infantry regiments was county based. Each infantry regiment consisted of two battalions. Territorial force consisted of part-time soldiers. County associations trained and equipped territorial battalions. These associations were controlled by local…
In the early hours of March 15, 2019 Brigadier (R) Asad Munir committed suicide. In his suicide note, he mentioned harassment by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Thus, extinguished the flicker of light of a fine officer and gentleman. I have known Asad for about ten years when in 2009 he contacted me. A few…
“There is nothing further here for a warrior. We drive bargains; old men’s work. Young men make wars and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men; courage and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace. The vices of peace are the vices of old men; mistrust and caution. It must be so” Prince Feisal…
This picture is dated 29 November 1972 when the Indian army Chief General (later Field Marshal) Sam Manekshaw flew to Pakistan for negotiations after the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. The two Pakistani Air Force (PAF) officers were prisoners of war and brought by Sam as a goodwill gesture. Both officers were shot down in western theatre…
Akbar Khan (1912-1994) was a Pathan from Charsadda area of Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa. He was from the pareech khel clan of Muhammad zai tribe that inhabits the village of Utmanzai. Akbar was from the last batch of Indian officers commissioned from Royal Military College Sandhurst in February 1934. Lieutenant General B.M. Kaul “Bijji” was his course mate at Sandhurst…
“We know that it was not strategy nor tactics nor leadership that really gained us the victory, but the spirit of sacrifice”. General Sir William Birdwood’s address on unveiling of the Punjab Frontier Force (PIFFER) Memorial at Kohat October 23, 1924. It is impossible to narrate the story of the Indian Army in the Great…
Former Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (DGISI) Lieutenant General ® Asad Durrani’s memoirs “Pakistan Adrift” will be released in Pakistan in the second week of October 2018. This is a memoir of a former DGISI and Ambassador and his perspective about events of the last two decades. Durrani is considered a cerebral officer by his peers…
Steve Coll’s new book is an excellent account of events of the last two decades in Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Steve has all the credentials to embark on this project. He is one of the best and well-informed journalists and his previous book Ghost Wars is the most authentic work of the history of Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA’s) war…
‘Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please’. Mark Twain Pakistan is in the throes of a judicial crisis since March 2007. On March 09, 2007, General Pervez Musharraf summoned Chief Justice Muhammad Iftikhar Chaudhry to the Army House where he was asked some tough questions and then…
“The establishments in the US, Pakistan and India are usually working for theirown good rather than for the good of their public. Shaking them might not be a bad idea”. Former Director General of Inter Service Intelligence (ISI)Lieutenant General (R) Asad Durrani quoted in Spy Chronicles Pakistanis will be voting for general elections on 25…
