A straightforward political narrative, this book seeks to examine the decisions and policies of political actors in Pakistan that sought to harness extremist ideologies for their own political ends, thereby promoting those ideologies and edging Pakistan towards extremism.

Given the limitations of the project, Hassan Abbas does a creditable job. Some of his interpretations of pre-partition and the 50s and 60s seem overly simplistic and convey received wisdom rather than genuine insight, but when he moves into the times he is best acquainted with [from Bhutto to Musharraf], and most concerned with, the book is highly informative. Abbas is highly critical of the myopic policies of followed by the ruling elite, and also shows how the military has remained power-brokers even during the so called democratic era of the 90s.

The books is a valuable guide to the governments policies but it fails to examine other important and pertinent aspects of Pakistan's 'Drift into Extremism'. As such it is only part of the whole story. ( )