Book review: Pakistan's secret history, through a spy's eyes

Express Tribune

2 days ago

Published by Pen & Sword Military, Caught in the Crossfire: The Inside Story of Pakistan's Secret Services, begins with the author recounting a dramatic story from 1982, featuring former president General Zia Ul Haq.
The incident perfectly encapsulates how Brigadier Naseem Akhtar Khan often found himself on the front lines of some of the most pivotal moments of the twentieth century. He also recounted another president, Pervez Musharraf, as a close friend and mentor.
Imagine spending nearly thirty years as an invisible warrior for your country, constantly slipping into enemy territory to gather vital secrets, dodging bullets, and outsmarting those who want to harm your nation. This is essentially what you'll find in Brigadier Khan's book. It is the author's personal journey through decades of high-stakes counterintelligence.
If you think this is just a dry history lesson, you are wrong. All those intense details have been woven into a really absorbing look at South Asian military history, especially focusing on the security challenges Pakistan has faced since it came into existence.
The author firmly believes that a lot of what's said about international strategies in the region is actually made-up information spread by Pakistan's enemies to hurt its interests. That was his basic inspiration when he decided to write this book, using his own experiences as a reliable guide for anyone trying to understand the past, and predict what might happen next. At its heart, the book is about how he sees the power plays happening in South Asia between both regional and global players. Brig Khan thinks it'll be incredibly helpful for readers to get a more realistic grasp of our constantly changing world order.
There are a multitude of thrilling stories in the book, worthy of any Hollywood blockbuster, and it shouldn't be surprising, given how the backdrop of Brig Khan's life easily lends itself to such high-stake action.
From the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan to 9/11 and through conflicts against neighbouring India, the former intelligence and military officer got a first-hand view of history unfolding in real time in his 23-year career in ISI.
Brig Khan's story is like something out of fiction. The dashing soldier came from relatively humble beginnings in Kashmir, a warm family and proud ancestry fueling his own ambitions to 'Touch the sky', as he and his sister would cry as they played as children.
There are several unexpected turning points in his life. The first one put him on a high achieving academic path that lead to the Pakistan Military Academy. His military career took off in the Army in 1969, but when he was asked to report for ISI, he worried this might spike his rise up the regular ranks. Yet there was another unprecedented opportunity, in 1979, when the Soviets went into Afghanistan, and the support Pakistan was able to provide proved instrumental to CIA efforts to undermine their Cold War rivals.
The Brigadier would also see first-hand how Pakistan was betrayed by its allies in the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union. After 9/11, Pakistan was coerced by the US into supporting its own invasion of Afghanistan and this led to its own wave of terrorism.
It is these difficult times in his country's history where Brig Khan's vantage point and analysis are most instructive for events that unfolded in 2025, including how domestic politics continues to undermine national interests, while the US is underestimating their need for the country, as it elevates India to counter China.
The turbulent times Brig Khan navigated as a patriot and one of Pakistan's invisible warriors has helped him to acquire such important perspectives, so that in his retirement and in private-sector security work, he has now been able to share them in this fine book.
Despite first and foremost being primarily a family man, Khan nevertheless put his life on the line for his nation several times. Regardless of the personal risks, his priority would be to protect Pakistan's interests. Loyalty features large in his story, yet it is ironic that outsiders might feel loyalty has no place in the spy game.
He is unsparing in his assessment of the problems caused by the interplay between Pakistan's politicians and the army in civilian governance matters, leading to the failure, and painful loss of East Pakistan.
Khan's book also serves as a concise history of Pakistan and he is able to deftly explain to readers who might not be aware, how an elite group of 22 families, accumulated such wealth and gained political power at the start of its journey, and that this ruling class influences its future even today.
What Brig Khan delivers to the reader is a memoir packed with his real-life experiences, all told in a way that makes sense. He really dives into the people, groups, and the organisations that shaped his life, trying to pull you into his world so you can truly understand what it's like to be a Pakistani soldier.
Mustafa Alrawi is a leading journalist and Group Director Editorial Partnerships at IMI Media, Abu Dhabi, UAE
All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the writer