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They once said Palestine will be free tomorrow. When is tomorrow? What is freedom? How long does it last?

In Gaza you don’t know what you’re guilty of. It feels like living in a Kafka novel.

A book about Gaza cuisine? That tiny, troubled sliver of the southeastern Mediterranean, the focus of seemingly unending struggle, where bombs and rockets, stones and bitter invective, are hurled back and forth across the border with Israel and occasionally too with neighboring Egypt. Who could care about food in a context so contentious? Isn’t that the very definition of frivolity?
Well, turns out, it’s not.

"Today, Jalalabad and Herat in Afghanistan, Fallujah and Mosul in Iraq or Homs and Aleppo in Syria seem synonymous with religious fundamentalism and sectarian violence. The present has washed away the past: gone are the days when the name of Kabul conjured up images of the gardens planted and tended by the great Bābur, founder of the Mughal Empire in India. "

"In the late nineteenth century, this sprawling web of connections was given a name by an eminent German geologist, Ferdinand von Richthofen (uncle of the First World War flying ace the ‘Red Baron’) that has stuck ever since: ‘Seidenstraßen’ – the Silk Roads."

‘Desires are already memories.’

To reach to the heart, the inner significance of Sher Shah, it is best to visit his vast frontier fortress at Rohtas. There it stands, sprawling across a low rocky hills a few miles north of Jihlam, its great ramparts growing from the cliff like a Wall of China, looking north across a sandy stream-bed to the low hills of the Salt Range, and beyond them, to the snows of Pir Panjal.

‘South of the smiling Kurram Valley lies a five-thousand-square-mile tangle of hills with the sinister sounding name of Waziristan. Here Pukhtunwali is the only way of life. Here the Pathan may be found at his cruellest — and his noblest. Here great and proud men have tasted humiliation.’

‘The traditional heart of the Afridi homeland is the Tirah, a series of small valleys just south of the Khyber Pass, not more than 30 miles from Peshawar. The beauty and fertility of the Tirah is legendary among its Pathans. The peaks which surrounds its valleys can be seen from Peshawar University.’

‘History hangs heavy on the Khyber & has left its mark upon its somber stone. Ground into the dust of the pass is Persian gold, Greek iron, Tatar leather, Mogul gems, Afghan silver & British steel. All have wanted it with their blood.’

'The Peshawaris in 'white turbans, white & blue shirts & sheepskin coats' are still there. So are the Persians and Afghans in 'brown woolen tunics and silk or sheepskin hats', the Khyberees with the straw sandals and the wild dress and air of their mountains', and the Hazaras, with their broad faces and little eyes, remarkable for their want of beard which is the ornament of every other face in the city.'

'Of all the Pathan cities, Peshawar is the unchallenged queen. Dubbed 'The Paris of the Pathans' by Lewell Thomas, the ancient city has long been the focus of every hillman's delight. As late as 1930, was the target of an Afridi attack, which all the military might of British India was barely able to contain. Some of the city gates still close at nightfall, not to open until dawn.'

"No one who enters, Peshawar or Bannu from Punjab, can fail to remark that he has left one region of the world for another, & he is on the verge of Iranian Plateau. To him the mountains are different, the plants burgeon, the seasons revolve, the cypress appears, the river flows bright as if alive, the birds recall the west, the sun and wind have an uplifting keenness, the men are the men of Central Asia..."

‘There is a strange fascination in living among the Pathans. Many attempts have been made to catch & convey that feeling, but the spell is elusive. One secret of the hold of the North-West frontier is to be sought in the tremendous scenic canvas against which the Pathan plays out his life, a canvas brought into vivid relief by sharp, cruel changes of climate.’

“For centuries in the bazaars of Peshawar city the art of story-telling has been practised, and there I have listened many times, spellbound, to masters of the art. Yet coming to this story I find I am not much of a story-teller myself. I don’t rightly know how and where to start.”

The Years 2007-08, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry: Suspended, Sacked & Restored. His suspension started with Musharraf’s orders; it has to be done for the COAS, as the CJ was interfering too much with the cases of public & political significance. This era also witnessed one of the biggest movement for the restoration of Judiciary, by the relentless struggle of the lawyers.

June 2005- March 2007, a difficult balancing act under the Iftikhar Muhammad Chudhry Court, who came into limelight for using suo motu powers in matters which he believed injustices had occurred. He took up many cases involving violations of human rights as well as other cases of political & public importance.

2003-2005, face of a spineless judiciary under Nazim Hussain Siddiqui. There are fee important constitutional cases decided by the Nazim Court because many felt there was no point in taking any constitutional cases to a Supreme Court that had become completely spineless.

2002-03, judiciary submerged in corruption under Sheikh Riaz Ahmed. It is a puzzle as to why persons like him become necessary to governments in Pak. Why do govt. of different - rather - opposing, political parties need the services of such persons? The shortcomings of such people & their lack of character reflect adversely on the overall character of the government in Pakistan.

Riaz becoming the CJ of Pakistan, & Irshad the CEC, both keen to be available for service for Musharraf, offered a gloomy prospect for Pakistan.It was a lethal combination,meant to promote the military dictator at the expense of the nation.Riaz was even worse than Irshad, since, he at least outwardly tried to project a facade of the independence of the judiciary & the protection of the fundamental rights of citizens

2000-2002, the usurper Chief Justice, Irshad Hasan Khan, who betrayed CJ Siddiqui, colluded with Musharraf & connivingly manipulated his way into the top post, being opportunistic. It has also been discussed in detail how he manipulated his appointment as Chief Election Commissioner after his retirement. Though he was an intelligent & sharp man, his weakness of character overshadowed any redeeming qualities as a man.

1999-2000, the deposed Chief Justice, Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, who only got to be CJ for 6 months, and had to bear the brunt of 99's coup. The one mistake he did was not confronting Musharraf's coup right away & allowing him to settle down & make inroads amongst the judges of SC. He had to pay dearly for this indecisive approach...

1997-1999, the judiciary recovers partially under the Ajmal Court. The author seems very much in awe of Ajmal Mian, as a man & a Judge. He had 1 & 1/2 years to clean up some of the mess of Sajjad Ali Shah, which he left behind for the Judiciary.

1994-1997, the judiciary under Sajjad Ali Shah: A House Divided against itself; the era highlights the notorious incident of the attack on Supreme Court by the PMLN backed lawyers and politicians. The author goes on a great length to describe the judiciary influenced by the government, by it’s own self-interests, & the damage rendered to this institute.

1993-94, the period of activist court of Nasim Hasan Shah, which wasn’t a significant & impactful period as he was CJ for less than a year.

1990-1993, years of confusion, under the Afzal Zullah Court, which denotes the composition of supreme court & high courts, and the important cases decided by the Zullah Court. The important aspect of this period is the contempt of the court committed by Gen.Aslam Beg.

1981-1989, dark days of the judiciary under the Haleem Court. This chapter sums up the proceedings of court before & after Zia’s death; the former being a restrictive and spineless judiciary, latter a more active one.

1977-1981, the military overpowers the judiciary under the Anwar-ul-Haq Court. This period highlights the tragedy of the trial & execution of Bhutto under the manipulation of the military Junta of Zia; the author has explained the sheer detail of which; & why the act of sending Bhutto to gallows under Anwar will certainly go down in history as the greatest damage done to the constitutionalism in Pakistan.

“It has been argued, in the years following the trial, that Bhutto never got a fair trial. In the application moved in the LHC, Bhutto levelled a number of allegations of substance; the application gives instances of unnecessary remarks made by Maulvi Mushtaq about, or against, Bhutto, including references to his supersession as CJ & the imposition of Civilian Martial Law.