Honour-bound to Pakistan in Duty, Destiny and Death

For various reasons, Iskander Mirza’s memoirs could not be published in book form and, after more than half a century, they are being published in their totality. The memoirs lay open the facts for the people of Pakistan, historians and academics to judge the man who was a trusted lieutenant of Quaid-e-Azam and, while in Indian Political Service, secretly worked with Jinnah (who fully recognized the invaluable potential in the young Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar) towards the most challenging task of achieving Pakistan from the British. In all fairness, General Ayub may not have been behind it all but the sycophants were in a stampede outdoing each other in casting aspersions on Iskander Mirza’s financial propriety, his integrity and character. Such was the national atmosphere that structured average Pakistani’s mindset for their first President and will be a miracle if this book, if not change, can at least initiate a debate on historical distortions, disinformation and withholding of important documented accounts that may not have gone down well with sitting government of the time to suit a certain ideology or, more dangerously, the planting of fake information to serve ulterior agendas. “A fascinating account of Pakistan's tumultuous past by one of its most neglected early leaders. Iskander Mirza's memoirs challenge many of the key elements in the received narrative of his country's history." Faisal Devji, Professor of Indian History, University of Oxford "A landmark book. An unfinished, yet very revealing, deeply disturbing memoir by the first President of Pakistan, supplemented by exclusive records and documents. Iskander Mirza becomes even more of an enigma. Personal integrity; remarkable capability; vast, varied experience; consistent commitment to Pakistan's wellbeing, yet abrogating the 1956 Constitution on 7 October 1958, inviting the armed forces and declaring martial law with startling naivety, "only one month", to be himself forcibly exiled forever in two weeks and to then adopt sustained, dignified silence till his demise in 1969. And for Pakistan's Government to disgracefully deny him burial in his own country. We are obliged to revisit history and to reexamine presumptions and perceptions in our perpetual search for the truth. Syed Khawar Mehdi has rendered an invaluable service to scholarship." Senator (r) Javed Jabbar "This timely collection contains Iskander Mirza’s recollections of the political background to the October 1958 military coup and his being sent into exile. The counter narrative to that of Field Marshal Ayub Khan’s autobiography, Friends Not Masters,will interest historians and general readers concerned with Pakistan’s long-term struggle to consolidate democracy." Ian Talbot, Professor Emeritus, Professor in the History of Modern South Asia, University of Southampton "Iskander Mirza was the first President of Pakistan. He has been given a bad press both by his successor, Ayub Khan, and by historians in general. Mehdi has edited Mirza's previously unpublished memoirs, and added official records such as those relating to Pakistan's acquisition of the port of Gwadar, to provide a more balanced record of Mirza's achievement. Some of the revelations are remarkable." Francis Robinson, Professor of the History of South Asia, Royal Holloway, University of London.