Chowrangi

‘In the Line of Fire’ is an autobiography of General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan. It is suspected to be ghost written by Humayun Gauhar, son of Ayub Khan’s media guru, Altaf Gauhar. Reportedly, Ayub Khan’s biography, Friends, Not Masters, was ghost-written by Altaf Gauhar.

‘In the Line of Fire’ was launched on September 25, 2006 at a signing ceremony at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

At the time of this post, ‘In the Line of Fire’ stands #8 in best sellers’ list of Amazon.com

According to The News editorial, political analysts have said that the book of President Musharraf is in fact an attempt to show General Musharraf as the saviour who brought out Pakistan from the brink of extremism and saved the country for the world.

The international media says that the book, although written in a direct, often dramatic style, is “nothing short of a self-congratulatory election manifesto.”

One analyst observed that the General “has every intention of being re-elected and keeping his uniform, and his memoirs, divided into six sections with a Prologue and an Epilogue, are a clear attempt to show him as an international leader of stature able to transform a deeply conservative, often extremist, society into what he calls a modern and moderate Islamic state.”

Papers are now quoting from the book extensively. The prologue sets the tone, with the General, Rambo-style, emerging unscathed from the several assassination attacks against him. “I have confronted death and defied it several times in the past because destiny and fate always smiled on me,” he explains.

Through the rest of the book the General justifies his every action, heaping plaudits on himself for Pakistan’s economic recovery and attempting to portray himself as the only viable option before Pakistan.

Incidentally, there was a movie of same name. Released in 1993 In the Line of Fire is a film about a psychopath who attempts to assassinate the President of the United States and the Secret Service agent who tracks him. It is directed by Wolfgang Petersen and stars Clint Eastwood as a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the President, and John Malkovich as the assassin.

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• Alcohol Exports Bring $220 Million To Pakistan - November 9th, 2008
• Open Letter of Appreciation to Government of Pakistan - November 5th, 2008
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• Pity the Nation - October 26th, 2008
• Lab Pay Aati Hai Dua .. Ban Kay Tamanna Meri - October 16th, 2008
• Predictions of the Century: The Fate of Sarah Palin, and Asif Ali Zardari and United States of America - October 12th, 2008