Ambassador Jamshed Marker, a distinguished diplomat with a rich experience of holding several important positions in the Foreign Service of Pakistan, in his book Cover Point, gives an in-depth analysis of the various military and civilian leaders of Pakistan. Marker’s book is a detailed account of how Pakistan progressed or regressed, for that matter under the various leaders, both civilian and military. The book starts with the recollection of the author’s experience as a test cricketer, from where he moves to shed light on his experience as a diplomat. In cricket terms, he was at cover point, ‘near enough to the wicket to follow the action around the stumps…yet sufficiently distant for a general overview of the state of play.’
The author states that all leaders in Pakistan, with the exception of its founding leaders, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan, usurped power, at some point through coups, military interventions or manipulated electoral processes. The book is not a chronology of the historical events in Pakistan’s history but the author’s remembrance of his experiences while working with various Pakistani leaders. Pakistan, being a nascent state, located in an important geo-strategic neighbourhood and being caught in the cross hairs of the Cold War, required many behind the scenes efforts in negotiating with great powers. The book starts with explaining the early days of Pakistan and how a smooth succession of the leadership, in a newly created state, was the only time when power transition was smooth and conducted under acceptable norms. The newly created state of Pakistan, struggling with the birth pangs of a new set up, confronted various challenges like the massive inflows of refugees which the author witnessed as a young government officer.
