{"id":5634,"count":18,"description":"Pakistan is an often misunderstood country. We have a range of interviews recommending books that explore the roots of Pakistan\u2019s political instability, its social and political challenges, and the complex role of Islam within the country. They also look at Pakistan\u2019s international position and the relationship with its neighbours, Afghanistan and India.\r\n\r\nAnatol Lieven, an academic and a journalist, chooses his best books on understanding Pakistan<\/a>, looking at the circumstances of the country\u2019s creation and the roots of its political instability. Historian Iftikhar Malik takes on a similar theme, exploring Pakistan, Partition and Identity<\/a>. Similarly, journalist and author Mani Shankar Aiyar, who served as an Indian diplomat in Pakistan, looks at Pakistan\u2019s history and identity<\/a>.\r\n\r\nFatima Bhutto, the niece of the former prime minister of the country (Benazir Bhutto), chooses her best books on the politics of Pakistan<\/a>, while Hassan Abbas, an academic and a former government official in Pakistan, looks at reform in the country<\/a>. Author Daniyal Mueenuddin<\/a> and former CIA officer Bruce Riedel<\/a> both choose their best books on the country itself.\r\n\r\nRelatedly, Syed Ashfaqul Haque looks at Bangladesh<\/a> and Gretchen Peters chooses the best books on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border<\/a>, while Paddy Docherty looks at the Khyber Pass<\/a>.\r\n\r\nAmong the books chosen by more than one of our interviewees are Shame<\/em><\/a> by Salman Rushdie; Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West<\/em><\/a> by Benazir Bhutto; and Descent into Chaos<\/em><\/a> by Ahmed Rashid.","link":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/category\/world\/asia\/pakistan\/","name":"Pakistan","slug":"pakistan","taxonomy":"category","parent":5616,"meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/5634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/taxonomies\/category"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/5616"}],"wp:post_type":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts?categories=5634"},{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book?categories=5634"},{"href":"https:\/\/fivebooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/books_like_this?categories=5634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}