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A Case Of Exploding Mangoes
''A Case of Exploding Mangoes'' (2008) is a comic novel by the Pakistani writer Mohammed Hanif based on the 1988 plane crash that killed General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, former president of Pakistan. The book received generally positive reviews from critics. It won the Commonwealth Foundation's Best First Book prize in 2009, and was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. Plot summary The central theme of the book is a fictitious story behind the real-life plane crash which killed General Zia, president of Pakistan from 1977 to 1988, about which there are many conspiracy theories. After witnessing a tank parade in Bahawalpur, Pakistan on August 17, 1988, Zia leaves the small Punjabi town in the C-130 Hercules aircraft designated "Pak One," along with several of his senior army officials, the US Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Raphel, and some crates of mangoes. Shortly after a smooth takeoff, the control tower loses contact with the aircraft. Witnesses who saw the plane in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mohammed Hanif
Mohammed Hanif (born November 1964) is a British Pakistani writer and journalist who writes a monthly opinion piece in ''The New York Times.'' Hanif is the author of the critically acclaimed book ''A Case of Exploding Mangoes'', which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, and won the Commonwealth Prize for Best Book. His second book, '' Our Lady of Alice Bhatti'', won the Wellcome Book Prize. He also worked as a correspondent for the BBC News based in Karachi and was the writer of the an acclaimed feature film about the city, ''The Long Night.'' His work has been published by ''The New York Times'', ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''The New Yorker'' and ''The Washington Post''. His play ''The Dictator's Wife'' has been staged at the Hampstead Theatre. Life He was born in Okara, Punjab. He graduated from Pakistan Air Force Academy as a pilot officer, but subsequently left to pursue a career in journalism. He initially worked for News ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mujahideen
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in '' jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the community (''ummah''). The widespread use of the word in English began with reference to the guerrilla-type militant groups led by the Islamist Afghan fighters in the Soviet–Afghan War (see Afghan mujahideen). The term now extends to other jihadist groups in various countries such as Myanmar (Burma), Cyprus, and the Philippines. Early history In its roots, the Arabic word ''mujahideen'' refers to any person performing '' jihad''. In its post-classical meaning, ''jihad'' refers to an act that is spiritually comparable in reward to promoting Islam during the early 600s CE. These acts could be a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Cogan
Charles G. "Chuck" Cogan (January 11, 1928 – December 14, 2017) was an American academic and intelligence officer who served in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1954 to 1991. Background Cogan was born in Melrose, Massachusetts. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Harvard University and served in the United States Army during the Korean War. From 2006 until his death, he was an associate at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. At the CIA, Cogan's roles included chief of the Near East and South Asia Division in the CIA's Directorate of Operations (1979–1984)Charles CoganDesert One and Its Disorders ''The Journal of Military History'' 67.1 (2003) 201-216 and Paris station chief (1984–1989).atlantico.frCharles Cogan : "Signer, c'est une question de courage" He graduated from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1992 with a Doctor of Public Administration degree. Cogan died in Cambri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nancy Halliday Ely-Raphel
Nancy Halliday Ely-Raphel (born 1937) is an American diplomat. She was the United States Ambassador to Slovenia from 1998 to 2001. From 2001 to 2003, she was the first Director of the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Biography Early life and education Ely-Raphel was born in 1937 to Margaret Merritt Halliday and Thomas Clarkson Halliday. She has one brother, Thomas Clarkson Halliday III. She graduated from Syracuse University in New York and attended the University of Würzburg in Würzburg, Germany. In 1968, she graduated from University of San Diego School of Law with a juris doctor. Career Prior to joining the United States Department of State, she was a San Diego deputy city attorney, an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of California, an Associate Dean of Boston University School of Law, and senior trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice's Organized Crime Strike Force. Between 1975 and 2003, she ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arnold Raphel
Arnold Lewis Raphel (March 16, 1943 – August 17, 1988) was the 18th United States Ambassador to Pakistan. Early life and education Raphel was born March 16, 1943 in Troy, New York, into a Jewish family, the son of Harry and Sarah (Rote-Rosen) Raphel. As a boy, Raphel was already interested in diplomacy and international affairs. At age 12, he wrote to the then Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, regarding his interest in diplomacy. Dulles wrote back in reply, advising him to "study hard, work hard and we’ll see you in ten years." Raphel graduated from Hamilton College (B.A., 1964) and the Maxwell School at Syracuse University (M.A., 1966). Career Raphel joined the US State Department in 1966. He held a variety of positions throughout his career until his death in 1988. He was mainly a diplomat for the US Government.http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AT&p_theme=at&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB7C36F1C888E44&p_field_dire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirza Aslam Beg
General Mirza Aslam Beg ( ur, ; born 2 August 1931), also known as M. A. Beg, was a Pakistan Army officer, who served as the 3rd Chief of Army Staff from 1988 until his retirement in 1991. His appointment as chief of army staff came when his predecessor, President General Zia-ul-Haq, died in an air crash on 17 August 1988. Beg's tenure witnessed Benazir Bhutto as being elected Prime Minister in November 1988, and the restoration of democracy and the civilian control of the military in the country. Controversial accusations were leveled against him of financing the Islamic Democracy Alliance (IDA), the conservative and right-wing opposition alliance against left-wing PPP, and rigging subsequent general elections in 1990. As a result of general elections, Nawaz Sharif was elected Prime Minister in 1990, but fell out with Beg when the latter recommended support for Iraq during the Gulf War. Beg was denied an extension from President Ghulam Ishaq Khan soon after in 1991, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shafiq Zia
Begum Shafiq Zia (née Shafiq Jahan; 21 September 1931 – 5 January 1996) was a Pakistani public figure who served as the First Lady of Pakistan from 1977 until her husband's death in a plane crash on 17 August 1988. Early life and family Begum Zia was born in 1931 in Kampala, Uganda, to a family of Punjabi descent; she moved to Pakistan after the partition of India, and married General Zia-ul-Haq on 10 August 1950 in Lahore. Shafiq was eight years younger than her husband, and was related to him on her maternal side. Her father, a medical doctor who lived and worked in Kampala, had taken leave at the time and was in Pakistan so that he could arrange the marriages of both his daughters. After the 1977 coup and her husband's assumption of the presidency in 1978, Zia became first lady. Over the next decade, she accompanied her husband on several overseas trips, including a state visit to the United States in 1982. As First Lady Upon assuming the presidency in 1978, the Zia f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Krait
The common krait (''Bungarus caeruleus''), also known as Bengal krait, is a species of highly venomous elapid snake of the genus ''Bungarus'' native to the Indian subcontinent. It is a member of the "Big Four" species that inflict the most snakebites on humans in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Description The average length of the common krait is , but it can grow to . Males are longer than females, with proportionately longer tails. The head is flat and the neck hardly evident. The body is cylindrical, tapering towards the tail. The tail is short and rounded. The eyes are rather small, with rounded pupils, indistinguishable in life. The head shields are normal, with no loreals; four shields occur along the margin of the lower lip; the third and fourth supraoculars touch the eye. The scales are highly polished, in 15-17 rows; the vertebral row is distinctly enlarged and hexagonal. Ventrals number 185-225 and caudals 37-50, and are entire (intact). Their colouration is general ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tariq Mehmood
Brigadier Tariq Mehmood (8 Oct 1938 – 29 May 1989) was a Pakistani military officer of Pakistan Army. He was serving as the Commander of Pakistan Army's Special Service Group (SSG), when he died in an accident in 1989 due to malfunctioning of his parachute during a free fall display at Rahwali, near Gujranwala. Mehmood was one of the most decorated Army officers who served with the SSG in two wars and various special operations. Early life and education Mehmood was born on 8 October 1938 at Multan. His father was a senior police officer. After completing his intermediate education from Gordon Christian College, Rawalpindi in 1956, he went to Lahore and graduated from Government College in 1959. He was also a member of Government College cricket team captained by Javed Burki. After graduation he went to Peshawar to study law at University of Peshawar, but he also got selected for Pakistan Army at the same time. He made a choice to serve his country and joined Pakistan Mil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathias Rust
Mathias Rust (born 1 June 1968) is a German aviator known for his flight that ended with a landing near Red Square in Moscow on 28 May 1987. A teenage amateur pilot, he flew from Helsinki, Finland, to Moscow, being tracked several times by Soviet Air Defence Forces and civilian air traffic controllers, as well as Soviet Air Force interceptor aircraft. The Soviet fighters did not receive permission to shoot him down, and his aeroplane was mistaken for a friendly aircraft several times. He landed on Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge, next to Red Square near the Kremlin in the capital of the Soviet Union. Rust said he wanted to create an "imaginary bridge" to the East, and that his flight was intended to reduce tension and suspicion between the two Cold War sides. Rust's flight through a supposedly impenetrable air defence system had a great effect on the Soviet military and led to the dismissal of many senior officers, including Minister of Defence Marshal of the Soviet Union Serg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashfaq Pervez Kayani
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (Urdu: ; born 20 April 1952), is a retired four-star general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 8th Chief of Army Staff , being appointed on 29 November 2007 after his predecessor Pervez Musharraf retired from his military service and remained in the office until 29 November 2013. Initially appointed as Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) under then-President Pervez Musharraf on 8 October 2007, he formally took over the command of the army when President Pervez Musharraf retired from his military service on 29 November 2007. In addition, General Kayani served as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (''ISI'') and as director of the Directorate-General of Military Operations (DGMO), overseeing major war efforts in the war on terror. On 24 July 2010, Kayani's tenure was extended for three more years by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani to continue the war efforts against the insurgent outfits. ''Forbes'' named him the world's 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Risalpur
Risalpur (Pashto/ ur, رسالپور) is a city in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on the Nowshera-Mardan Road. It is nearly 45 km from Peshawar and 18 km from Mardan and is located at 34°4'52N 71°58'21E. In a basin some 1014 feet above sea level, it is bounded on the south and west by the Kabul and Kalpani rivers, respectively. The famous Khyber Pass lies 90 kilometers to the north. Risalpur is known as "Home of Eagles" and "Home of Sappers". It has several important educational institutions and industrial plants. Languages spoken here are Urdu, English, Pashto, and others. The Risalpur Export Processing Zone is on the main Nowshera-Mardan road. The Risalpur Cantonment itself lies on high ground, some 30 feet above the surrounding area, with the oldest building dating from 1913 or 1914 The population that mostly lives here are from mixed Pushtoon tribes 71, 58, 21, E, region:PK_type:city, display=title Military history In 1910 Risalpur had a former ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
