The Nine Lives of Pakistan: Dispatches from a Divided Nation

Declan Walsh  The New York Times foreign correspondent Declan Walsh.Walsh received the Overseas Press Club of America Cornelius Ryan Award for best nonfiction book on international affairs.

Major Profiles

Chaudhry Aslam, a Karachi policeman whom Declan Walsh profiled as “Pakistan’s toughest cop.

In Lahore, Asma Jahangir, a diminutive human rights lawyer with a reputation for speaking unvarnished truth to power

Deep in the restive Balochistan Province, home to a separatist movement that still bedevils Pakistan’s powerful military, Walsh introduces us to a local chieftain, Nawab Akbar Shahbaz Khan Bugti

The story of Asia Bibi — a Christian woman who is sentenced to hang for blasphemy, and, after international outrage, later acquitted by the Supreme Court — is told through the lens of a man, Salmaan Taseer, Punjab’s governor, who was murdered by one of his own guards for demanding justice for Bibi.

Assassination of Salmaan Taseer, the Governor of Punjab, emphasizing the societal and political turmoil surrounding blasphemy laws and religious fanaticism in Pakistan. Taseer's assassination and the public reaction to it underscore the deep divisions and challenges facing the nation in reconciling modernity with tradition and religious conservatism.

Anwar Kamal in Lakki Marwat. Kamal's dual life as a polished politician in Peshawar and a tribal leader in his constituency is depicted, showing the stark contrast between urban elite life and the rugged tribal traditions. The story captures the complexity of Pashtun identity, the interplay between tradition and modernity, and the ongoing conflict with the Taliban insurgency.

Detailed account of Asad Qureshi's journey to Waziristan, aiming to interview Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, and the ensuing kidnapping ordeal involving Qureshi and other associate