LAHOR E: Syeda Abida Hussain`s political autobiography `Power Failure: The Political Odyssey of a Pakistani Woman,` was launched here at Alhamra on Friday, inviting praise and criticism.

The event was attended by politicians, bureaucrats, literati and friends and family of the author, who is also an agriculturist and a former diplomat. The book was launched by the publisher Oxford University Press.

Based on her personalnotes and diaries, Abida Hussain has in the book narrated events that have resonated with her, and in which she had some part to play. She highlights the impact of the key political events of the country on her personal life as well as on the nation.

The book is also an anecdotal account of missed opportunities.

The narrative covers the author`s privileged childhood, her entry into politics and the hurdles she faced along the way as a woman politician in the male-dominated society of the rural Punjab.

She provides details of the deterioration and erosion of the country`s institutions. Pakistan`s close embroilment in Afghanistan hasalso been discussed. The author provides insight into the reasons for poverty and inequity of the country`s societal construct, conspiracies spawned by individuals and interests, both at the national and international levels. Light has also been shed on the regressive elements in Pakistan.

A discussion was held between Ms Hussain, journalist and author Ahmed Rashid, Society for the Advancement of Education Executive Director Abbas Rashid and Lahore Grammar School Director Samina Rahman.

Ms Hussain touched upon how, as an individual and as a politician, she often found herself caught up in the vortex of contentious political issues and events, with her life of ten under threat, and her career in politics interrupted and prematurely curtailed.

She said she avoided directly hitting personages in her book because her family did not want more enemies.

Replying to questions, she said the recent sit-ins led to concentration on major political issues, and maturity of politicians. There was a certain possibility of moving forward.

She said it was true that she was born in a landlord family. But in the presence of the present corporateculture in the country it was no longer comfortable even if one had generous piece of land. `Once I told a friend that why he did not think of her becoming the chief minister or the prime minister and he said because you don`t have a couple of textile mills,` she said, adding: `We have to curb the tendency ofpronteering while moving towards modernisation.

She pleaded not guilty for supporting the infamous Article 58(2) B of the Constitution and becoming a part of introducing it, saying the clause was a safety valve against military interventions. It was not wrong rather it was for resolving conflicts between the politicians and the establishment, allowing a fresh reference to the people.

In the absence of this clause, there was no way to make a fresh reference to the people but `we deleted it,` she said.

Ms Hussain hoped for a better understanding between the army and the politicians on the issue of setting up military courts in the country. `The politicians have taken position and they should now stick to it. They first agreed to it and are now backtracking. Army takes positions and tends to hold them. I hope that both of them would remain on the same page,` she said.She said Nawaz Sharif should have tal(en Gen Musharraf to the US which he visited in the wake of the Kargil issue.

In her welcome address, Oxford University Press Managing Director Ameena Saiyid said the book was a rich collection of personal episodes and experiences, valuable because they came from the author`s life flecked by a range of diverse experiences. `In this book you will find anecdotes featuring Abida`s encounters with the leading lights of Pakistani politics and foreign notables as well as her insights in the different areas of human experience she was privileged to have witnessed.

Mr Abbas Rashid said the book was brutally honest. As a diplomat she won support for Pakistan with her charm. The book has been written the same way the author speaks.

Mr Ahmad Rashid said the author failed to relate the events she wrote to the overall bigger picture. She was soft on her political friends, avoiding to criticise those she respected. Replying to this, Ms Hussain admitted that there was insufficient analysis. She said she was thinking of writing another book to overcome shortcomings in the first one.