Kashmir Halcyon:

PLANE TO PAKISTAN Musharraf in plane "Sir, the pilot wants you in the cockpit," my military secretary Nadeem Taj said to me in a hushed tone. I had been lost in my thoughts, but the urgency in his voice jolted me back. "Now what?" I wondered. He could hardly have sounded so insistent if the pilot had simply wanted me to see our landing from the cockpit. The not-sohidden finger of fate had intervened at regular intervals to write my destiny. I had the foreboding that the finger of fate was moving again. Descending from 8,000 feet (2,400 meters), we were about to land in Karachi on a commercial flight from Colombo. The "fasten seatbelts" and "no smoking" signs had been switched on. I could see the lights of the city glittering below In Colombo, a huge storm and a torrential downpour had flooded the runway and delayed our departure. Our flight had taken off forty minutes late. Then, passengers lingering in the duty-free shops...

In charge of Pakistan's Eastern Command, General Niazi was blamed for the defeat and was removed from the army in 1975. Though the Hamoodur Rehman Inquiry Commission set up in Pakistan after the war -- parts of the report were officially released in 2001 -- had recommended his court-martial, General Niazi did not face a trial. The release of the Hamoodur Commission report has generated a fresh debate, with the public endorsing the recommendation for action against those army officers responsible for the 1971 debacle. How do you react? General Niazi, spoke to American newspaper, in December 2001. A rare interview conducted by Amir Mir. Thirteen days later, Pakistani troops under Lieutenant General Ameer Abdullah Khan Niazi (1915- February 2, 2004), surrendered. In charge of Pakistan's Eastern Command, General Niazi was blamed for the defeat and was removed from the army in 1975. Though the Hamoodur Rehman Inquiry Commission set up in Pakistan after the war -- parts...