Shadow War: The Untold Story of Jihad in Kashmir

by Arif Jamal

For nearly sixty years, India and Pakistan have battled over the territory of Kashmir. The two nuclear-armed states have fought three bloody wars in the region, but the countries have also fought in the shadows. Having interviewed nearly a thousand militants in war-torn Kashmir, Arif Jamal presents a news-breaking account of Pakistan's secret battles with India. From the early 1980s, when the Kashmiri conflict lurked in the background of the CIA's proxy war in Afghanistan, to the eruption of insurgent violence in 1988, to recent Kashmiri connections to terrorist financing and training, Jamal brings much to light. Jamal reveals that the Pakistani military has trained nearly half a million insurgents and, as a matter of defense policy, continued the conflict at great human cost. He also shows how CIA money destined for the Afghan mujahideen was funneled to Kashmiri jihadis, leading to a twenty-year insurgency rarely discussed in Western media. A contributing writer to The New York Times , Arif Jamal is currently a fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. A leading Pakistani reporter, he has written for the Pakistan Times , The News , and international media such as Radio France International and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Genres: India, Pakistan, History, Nonfiction

352 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2009

Reviews

[Michael Griswold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shadow War is a brief primer on Kashmir conflict and the interrelated links between the ISI and various jihadi groups waging jihad throughout the Kashmir region, but I can't help but feeling that something is missing. The story revolves around Pakistan with far few mentions of India. Further I was a little disappointed, the book really picks up in the second half when discussing the interplay between the ISI, Musharaff, and jihadi groups, but at points it feels like an exercise in alphabet soup keeping the names of the jihadi groups straight and the leaders and defections, I felt like many sections could've been fleshed out deeper than basic factual surface information, but that would've made the book longer, taking away its' brevity. Good for a start on the Kashmir problem, but for depth look elsewhere.

[Tariq Mahmood · Rating 3 out of 5]

How can Americans stop us from waging jihad in Kashmir when they themselves are waging jihad in Afghanistan? General Zia.

I liked the format of the book. There is a lot of historical context and interesting anecdotes of key personalities which kept me engaged. At times it does seem that author was fly on the wall though but hey he must have researched enough I guess. Pakistan army is a Punjabi army and it was involved in Kashmiri jihad even before the creation of Pakistan. After 1947, the rational of jihad has been exactly the same over and over again, infiltrate Kashmir with a few militants which will incite the locals to rebellion which will result in a defeat for India. All attempts so far have failed, which means that any future attempts will be futile. But how do you change the mindset of the Pakistani intelligence community? I guess this book is an important step in the right direction.

The book gets challenging with all the names of jihadi parties and jihadis themselves. The author could have made the story much more interesting by profiling most of the jihadi players.

The last part of the book gets really difficult to follow with all the different mujahideen groups vying for prominence. The story looses the plot completely reading like an boring editorial article of a newspaper

[Dushyant Chaturvedi · Rating 4 out of 5]

the definitive book about the seeds of the Kashmir conflict. would make your head spin with the number of characters that it introduces but keeps following up with them, across time lines.

the fact that it is written by a Pakistani makes for special mention. it was written in 2007 and some information is now dated. what makes for hilarious reading is the description of how Indian authorities used to bend over backwards to please extra constitutional authorities such as the Hurriyat Conference. I used to read about that when it was happening in real time, but 20 years down the line, the contrast in the government approach is breathtaking.

should be read by anyone who wishes to know more about the struggles before '47 and then in the dark decades of the 80s and 90s.

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book if you want to know the entire history of the Kashmir violence. It is not great at analyzing it, but since you need to know the complete timeline of what has occurred this is crucial. A good quick read- but leave you wanting just a bit more...

For Americans who look at Pakistan's behaviour purely through the lense of our needs, this is vital to see why they don't always do things the "American way"....

[Syed · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst non-fiction book i have ever read. I am only glad on the fact that i didn't have to go and buy this book. I was looking for a reasonable account on the Kashmir issue so i randomly checked this one out from my institute's library. The book is absolute gibberish. Stupid statements, myths are taken as established facts and there are tonnes of spelling and grammatical errors. There is nothing in this book that is untold.

This is written from a very pro Indian point of view but even that could have been better if he had relied on good enough sources. After reading a bulk of 270 pages you're still not clear why Kashmir is a bone of contention between India and Pak. Not recommended at all.

[Omar Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good summary of how Pakistan became jihad central. Arif says that the army has managed to train about half a million terrorists. I see no reason to doubt his figures, so buckle up for a rough ride...

[Shiven Patel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. The author explains the issue with jihadis in Kashmir very well, but the story lacks real form.

[Taveri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is full of details of specific actions by particular groups in the disputed areas.  Even the different organizations are difficult to keep track of, never mind all the individuals.  The disputes go back to the 1947 partitioning of the then larger India.  Some areas/districts had not been sorted or simrly didn't want to be part of Pakistan nor India.  So there are struggles to subdue them and for them to be independent.

For a succinct summary look at >

https://www.britannica.com/place/Kash...


Violence and displacing of people has been rampant.  Other things i learned is the area is surrounded by mountains but there are twenty-one passes accessing the area.  Parts are at such high altitude, such as the second largest non-polar glacier that warfare is impractable with temperatures reaching minus 50° below zero.

[Gaurav Pandey]

Interesting read.
Though I am an expert on the subject, I noticed some important discussions missing in the book.

1. Al Qaida's involvemen in the kashmir issue. - Not been covered in the book
2. India's request for extradition of Dawood Ibrahim is denied by Pakistan-this leads to peace talks being suspended - This is not covered in the book either