ABOUT THE BOOK
fjrigjwwe9r0pp_Books:Description
Afghanistan is located at the
cross-roads of many civilizations. It is the gateway to India as well as to
Central Asia. It shares borders with Pakistan, Iran, and the Central Asian
Republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan—a volatile mix of nations
in a troubled corner of the world. Historically, the country with the most
interest in the region is Russia, which views Central Asia as its back yard,
and the nations located within it—stepping stones—to the warm waters of the
Arabian Sea. In pursuit of that ambition, Russia over the centuries has
gradually expanded its realm by conquering the vast lands of the Caucasus and
Muslim Central Asia, eventually pausing at the northern borders of the Indian
sub-continent and Afghanistan.
Seven years after Afghanistan’s
first-ever Presidential election, the increasingly besieged Government of Hamid
Karzai has virtually lost credibility at home and abroad. Al Qaeda has found a
new friend in the region—the Tehrik-e-Taliban of Pakistan (TTP)—which has
offered them a safe haven in the tribal belt of the country. The government of
Pakistan beset by one political crisis after another and in the aftermath of
the killing of Osama Bin Laden at Abbottabad, is on the defensive.
ABOUT Author
fjrigjwwe9r0pp_Books:aboutAuthor
Syed Viqar Salahuddin graduated as a Chemical Engineer from the
University of New Mexico in the U.S. in 1967. He has worked in the Oil and Gas
sectors with the affiliates of Exxon and Shell in South Asia and the Far East,
in various assignments, which included appointments as Chief Executive Officer
of an Oil Refinery and a Liquid Petroleum Gas Marketing company. He retired in
2006 after a work tenure extending over 39 years.
Besides Engineering, he is a
student of History and Human Behavior and has spoken on these subjects at
various forums. He is the author of three books, ‘Islam, Peace and Conflict,’ ‘Destiny
or Freewill—the Human Paradox.’ And ‘the jinxed Talisman.’