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SUMMARY

The present volume entitled "History of Pakistan. The 20th Century" is one in the series of monographs on the contemporary history of the countries of the East (Asia and Northern Africa) brought out by the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences. The authors of the volume are known Russian experts on Pakistan Prof.Dr. V.Ya. Belokrenitsky and Prof. Dr. V.N. Moskalenko.

Though Pakistan from its very birth in 1947 attracted profound interest of historians, sociologists and political scientists throughout the world, as well as attention of students and general public, few books are dedicated to its history from the beginning of the 20th century, when one can trace the roots of the movement which finally led to the creation of Pakistan, till the beginning of the 21st century. Written in Russian, the book will find readers not only in the Russian Federation but also in the newly independent states of Central Asia and South Caucasus.

It can be stated without gross exaggeration that the study of Pakistan is one of the most developed fields in Russian orientology. The school was founded in the 1950s by Professors A.M. D'yakov, Yu.V. Gankovsky and L.R. Gordon-Polonskaya. The two latter scholars authored a book "History of Pakistan" which was published in 1961 in Russian and in 1968 in English and became an often quoted reference book for the works on Pakistan in its early years.

The present book which has almost similar title is far larger in scope, differs from it ideologically and tries to meet the expectations of students and general public in line with the targets set before the authors of all other books in the abovementioned series.

In the Introduction the authors characterise the place occupied by Pakistan in the world economy and international politics and provide a concise history of the territory comprising today's Pakistan from ancient times to the end of the 19th century. A brief sketch of the international and Russian historiography of Pakistan is also included.

Chapter 1 is dedicated to historical preconditions for the formation of Pakistan and the political struggle which finally succeeded in not only gaining independence from Great Britain but creating a state in southern Asia where Muslims were in the majority. The authors underline the contribution of Sir Sayeed Ahmad Khan and

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Allama Muhammad Iqbal as one of the founding fathers of Pakistan and the crucial role played by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Chapter 2 contains a story of first 11 years in the history of Pakistan. The authors emphasise that since the inception Pakistan suffered from a number of shortcomings. As a state, it began from a scratch. Furthermore, it was divided into two territories, West and East, separated by India. Since Autumn 1947, Pakistan was engaged in a war with India over the fate of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan consisted of those parts of colonial India which were least developed industrially and infrastructurally. And finally, the division of India led to human sufferings and economic decline. However, in spite of gloomy predictions, Pakistan had managed to overcome the initial difficulties and made significant progress in the early 1950s. In 1956, in accordance with the first Constitution it became the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. But the democratic process thereafter met with numerous hurdles and collapsed in the end of 1958 giving way to the first military regime headed by Mohammad Ayub Khan.

Chapter 3 is devoted to the next 13 years in the history of the country comprising two provinces, West and East Pakistan. The authors analyse in detail socio-economic reforms carried out by the military government. The regime's transformation from purely military to military-political one manifested in the promulgation of the second Constitution in 1962. According with the provisions of the Constitution Ayub Khan contested for the post of President in January 1965 and won. The authors underline the initial success of the strategy of developing private sector with state and foreign assistance. They analyse various aspects of Pakistani foreign policy and stress the significance of the second war with India in 1965. The aggravation of political situation which issued since then gradually led to an acute political crisis, and the new military government of General A.M. Yahya Khan was established in March 1969. The new regime made attempts to liberalise political system and held the first ever general election to the Central and Provincial Legislatures in the end of 1970. The election results demonstrated the alienation of East Pakistan, populated mainly by Muslim Bengalis, from the rest of the country, and in a year Pakistan desintegrated into the present day Pakistan and the Republic of Bangladesh.

Chapter 4 deals with the period of personalistic power of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a charismatic leader from the southern province of Sindh.

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His coming to power was made possible by the military who decided to step back and give politicians a chance to rule. Pakistan, being born

tried to reform the society on a socialistic pattern. His government nationalised large industrial enterprises, banking and insurance companies and appealed to the sentiments of workers and poor peasants. But the reforms did not work. The nationalised and state sectors stagnated, while the disguised unemployment and poverty were on the rise. The authors maintain that despite of this Z.A. Bhutto and his party retained popularity among shrinking majority and could have won by a moderate margin in the general election in March 1977. Somehow, the government had grossly rigged the election results and provided a chance for the opposition to gain strength. The political impasse ended in a new military coup in July 1977.

Chapter 5 scrutinizes 11 years of the national administration headed by General M. Zia-ul-Haq. The authors posit that the policy of Islamisation was the cricial and lasting feature of the period. Although the General was not a religious bigot he had skillfully used the prevailing mood of the time, in Pakistan and abroad, and inposed upon the country a new mode of doing things in almost every sphere of life. As the authors point out, the policy of Islamisation helped Zia-ul-Haq in legalizing the coup d'etat and establishing full control by the army. The General took advantage of the war in Afghanistan which started in late 1970s and got the international support he badly needed. In 1985, he transformed the regime into semi-military but could not prevent its decay. The end of direct Soviet involvement in Afghanistan had undermined Zia-ul-Haq's international position as he tried to salvage his policy of Islamic revivalism and Pakistan's geopolitical expansion. His sudden death in an aircrash in August 1988 is considered by many to be the revenge for sending his archrival Z.A. Bhutto to the gallows in 1979.

In Chapter 6 the authors trace the history of the democratic rule in Pakistan which began in Autumn 1988 with the general election and formation of the PPP government with Z.A. Bhutto's daughter Benazir as prime-minister. They analyse the mechanism of powersharing which evolved after the election with the ruling political parties, civil bureaucracy and the armed forces as the main

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