--- product_id: 48562009 title: "Pakistan on the Brink: The future of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the West" price: "28227CFA" currency: XOF in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.sn/products/48562009-pakistan-on-the-brink-the-future-of-pakistan-afghanistan-west store_origin: SN region: Senegal --- # Pakistan on the Brink: The future of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the West **Price:** 28227CFA **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Pakistan on the Brink: The future of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the West - **How much does it cost?** 28227CFA with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sn](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/48562009-pakistan-on-the-brink-the-future-of-pakistan-afghanistan-west) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Ahmed Rashid, author of Descent Into Chaos and Taliban , charts the latest developments in the dangerous trajectory of one of the world's most strategically important, and volatile, countries - and the effects on its neighbours and us all 'An expert's examination of the volatile region that gives the world's policy-makers their biggest nightmare' Christina Lamb, Sunday Times What does the future hold for the world's most unstable region? With Bin Laden dead, Pakistan threatened by internal power struggles and the US and Britain beginning withdrawal from Afghanistan, there is no better guide the possibilities - and dangers -than Ahmed Rashid. In his follow-up to Descent into Chaos, he examines the changing casts of characters in this story, the future of the Taliban and international terrorism, and the political manoeuvring both within Pakistan and Afghanistan and among Western allies, offering a way forward for all countries involved. Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist based in Lahore, who has covered Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia for a variety of publications since 1979. He is the author of five books - the best selling Taliban, Descent into Chaos: The US and the Disaster in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia , Jihad and The Resurgence of Central Asia . He writes for the Financial Times , the New York Times , the New York Review of Books , , BBC Online and Pakistani publications. Foreign Policy magazine chose him as one of the world's most important 100 Global Thinkers in 2009 and 2010. In 2008 he won Spain's prestigious Casa Asia prize for contributing most about Asia to the Spanish people.The following year he was presented with the prize for best columnist in the Spanish press by King Juan Carlos at a dinner honoring him. In December 2009 he was appointed a member of the board of New York's Committee to Protect Journalists. He has also served on the Board of Advisers for the International Committee of the Red Cross for five years. His books have won numerous prizes. His website is: www.ahmedrashid.com 'This excellent book provides a much-needed update on what has happened in Afghanistan and Pakistan ... Rashid has an eye for the big picture as well as a journalist's nose for detail' Daily Telegraph 'A powerful and pacey primer' Spectator 'A meticulous, reliable and authoritative chronicler ... Unlike many journalists Rashid has the courage to outline how he believes the catastrophic situation in his homeland (Pakistan) and its neighbour, Afghanistan, can be improved' Jason Burke, Observer Review: Detailed Contemporary Portrait of a Troubled Region - By the authors admission, the chapters of this book are essentially standalone essays. With that said, they complement each other very well, and when read as a whole the book provides a detailed briefing on the current state of play between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the West. I have no doubt that Ahmed Rashid's knowledge of his topic extends to the highest level, and as you'll see when reading the book, it has allowed him a unique level of access to key politicians and policymakers. Yet the book makes for a very accessible read with little need for any specialist knowledge prior to reading. For the potential reader: the historical context of the issues discussed is only briefly touched upon (if at all), but this is perhaps a strength, and no doubt a deliberate decision by the author, in pursuit of a concise portrait of the contemporary situation and likely prospects for the future. Of particular merit: The opening chapters are notable for their coverage not only of Pakistan (as their titles would suggest), but of the deep and complex relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and go a long way to helping us understand why the road to peace in Kabul runs largely through Islamabad, as they say. Chapter four concentrates on the failure to hold free and fair elections and establish legitimate governance in Afghanistan, and the necessity of doing so if any real progress is to be made. Pakistan's sectarian geography and the preponderance of the Taliban in certain areas had meant that electoral turnout among certain groups was virtually non-existent: one of the key factors behind the military surge into Taliban-controlled areas of southern Afghanistan prior to the 2010 parliamentary election. The fifth chapter illustrates the intense infighting in Washington over policy in and for Afghanistan, and levels a strong critique of ISAF strategy, arguing that the strong focus on Helmand may have been detrimental. Rashid posits that a more sound strategy would have been to fully secure Kabul and then gradually expand outwards. In the concluding chapter, Rashid offers his analysis of what the future might hold. Commenting on states of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), India and China, and also Iran, the author illustrates the wider regional picture, detailing what is at stake for these countries and what their roles might be in moving forward. The Arab Spring, although geographically distant from Pakistan, is argued as a potential threat should a similar sentiment take root among Pakistan's jobless and frustrated youth, while the threat of sectarian revolt and the detrimental impact of 'capture or kill' raids are also covered. Ahmed Rashid's book excels by not focusing on the particular details of one country or the other, but in analysing them together, on the basis that their futures are intractably linked. Rashid's key contention is that in many ways Pakistan's current position is more perilous than that held by Afghanistan, and that, following Richard Holbrooke's footsteps, Washington and the West must rethink their current strategy toward Pakistan, for the status of Pakistan's fragile democracy is perhaps the key arbiter of Afghanistan's prospects for a stable and democratic future. Review: Readable, journalistic, informative - Useful background reading to supplement the thin reporting of the mass media. Readable and not too long (212pp). Notes refer mainly to journalistic sources and are quite informative, though no bibliography as such. Some handy maps. I would read other works by this writer to improve my knowledge of current affairs. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 1,008,977 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) | | Customer Reviews | 4.2 out of 5 stars 165 Reviews | ## Images ![Pakistan on the Brink: The future of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the West - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/8128xaSoJmL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Detailed Contemporary Portrait of a Troubled Region *by R***P on 22 July 2012* By the authors admission, the chapters of this book are essentially standalone essays. With that said, they complement each other very well, and when read as a whole the book provides a detailed briefing on the current state of play between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the West. I have no doubt that Ahmed Rashid's knowledge of his topic extends to the highest level, and as you'll see when reading the book, it has allowed him a unique level of access to key politicians and policymakers. Yet the book makes for a very accessible read with little need for any specialist knowledge prior to reading. For the potential reader: the historical context of the issues discussed is only briefly touched upon (if at all), but this is perhaps a strength, and no doubt a deliberate decision by the author, in pursuit of a concise portrait of the contemporary situation and likely prospects for the future. Of particular merit: The opening chapters are notable for their coverage not only of Pakistan (as their titles would suggest), but of the deep and complex relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and go a long way to helping us understand why the road to peace in Kabul runs largely through Islamabad, as they say. Chapter four concentrates on the failure to hold free and fair elections and establish legitimate governance in Afghanistan, and the necessity of doing so if any real progress is to be made. Pakistan's sectarian geography and the preponderance of the Taliban in certain areas had meant that electoral turnout among certain groups was virtually non-existent: one of the key factors behind the military surge into Taliban-controlled areas of southern Afghanistan prior to the 2010 parliamentary election. The fifth chapter illustrates the intense infighting in Washington over policy in and for Afghanistan, and levels a strong critique of ISAF strategy, arguing that the strong focus on Helmand may have been detrimental. Rashid posits that a more sound strategy would have been to fully secure Kabul and then gradually expand outwards. In the concluding chapter, Rashid offers his analysis of what the future might hold. Commenting on states of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), India and China, and also Iran, the author illustrates the wider regional picture, detailing what is at stake for these countries and what their roles might be in moving forward. The Arab Spring, although geographically distant from Pakistan, is argued as a potential threat should a similar sentiment take root among Pakistan's jobless and frustrated youth, while the threat of sectarian revolt and the detrimental impact of 'capture or kill' raids are also covered. Ahmed Rashid's book excels by not focusing on the particular details of one country or the other, but in analysing them together, on the basis that their futures are intractably linked. Rashid's key contention is that in many ways Pakistan's current position is more perilous than that held by Afghanistan, and that, following Richard Holbrooke's footsteps, Washington and the West must rethink their current strategy toward Pakistan, for the status of Pakistan's fragile democracy is perhaps the key arbiter of Afghanistan's prospects for a stable and democratic future. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Readable, journalistic, informative *by J***C on 18 January 2013* Useful background reading to supplement the thin reporting of the mass media. Readable and not too long (212pp). Notes refer mainly to journalistic sources and are quite informative, though no bibliography as such. Some handy maps. I would read other works by this writer to improve my knowledge of current affairs. ### ⭐⭐⭐ The book is disappointing and I hate to say this because Ahmed Rashid is a very ... *by M***S on 4 January 2018* The book is disappointing and I hate to say this because Ahmed Rashid is a very likeable person. However, the books is extremely dull, dreary and lacking coherence. The author seems to criticise the Pakistani military establishment for distinguishing between good and bad Taliban whereas simultaneously suggesting that the only way to have peace in Afghanistan is by cutting a deal with the Taliban. This might just be sub-conscious but it shows that this hasn’t been thought through. To find this a tolerable read, you really have to be deeply interested in the subject of Afghanistan and the tragedy of the Pakhtuns that they find themselves divided between two states. Perhaps because the author is Pakistani, he seems to be unable to see (or is unwilling to see) that the long term “solution” lies in weaning Pakhtuns away from fundamentalism promoted by the Pakistani military and towards ethnic nationalism. This means that the Pakhtun areas south of the Durand line must be unified with Afghanistan in a single unified state. This would bring the chaos and destruction to an end. But it is precisely the fear of this which makes the Pakistani military continuously fuel fundamentalism for its own ends – with disastrous consequences for Pakistan itself. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sn/products/48562009-pakistan-on-the-brink-the-future-of-pakistan-afghanistan-west](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/48562009-pakistan-on-the-brink-the-future-of-pakistan-afghanistan-west) --- *Product available on Desertcart Senegal* *Store origin: SN* *Last updated: 2026-09-16*