The undesirable torture I have been put to by the previous Government for uncommitted crimes will remain a landmark in the history of corruption and tyranny for all time…My suffering almost to the point of death that I had to face at the hands of the political tyrants, has not gone in vain and I am happy that truth and righteousness have at last won a battle like of which has, perhaps seldom happened in the history of the defeat of evil.

• Allama Mashriqi, 1958

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Allama Mashriqi Narrowly Escapes the Gallows chronicles one of the most high-profile court cases in South Asian history. The case arose in 1958 when Allama Mashriqi, who led the freedom of the Indian sub-continent, was falsely implicated in the assassination of the former Chief Minister of then West Pakistan (East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971). News of Mashriqi’s arrest for the murder spread like wildfire; it was broadcast via radio transmissions, special supplements (Zamima), and front-page banner headlines. The nation was gripped by the news and could not believe that Mashriqi was responsible for such a heinous act. As the subsequent trial demonstrated, Mashriqi was an innocent man and the trial was actually part of a broader plan to get Mr. Mashriqi and other accused Khaksars hanged (The Pakistan Times, June 15, 1958).

In this book, scholar and historian Nasim Yousaf, Mashriqi’s grandson, provides a day-by-day account of the court proceedings. The proceedings include information from leading politicians of the time, who were either interrogated or had their statements recorded in connection with the trial. The trial also provides insight into how the prosecution (with the backing of the Pakistani establishment) built a case against Mashriqi; the book is an excellent read for anyone seeking to understand not only the conspiracy behind the Chief Minister’s murder, but also the corruption and vindictive behavior of those in power in the early days of the nation; the trial demonstrated that the assault on democracy and abuse of power in Pakistan existed from the nation’s very birth. The reckless attitude of the country’s leadership since its founding in 1947 led to the eventual overthrow of the civilian Government by the military Commander-in-Chief in 1958, and laid the foundation for many of the problems the Pakistani nation faces today.

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