Envoy: A Diplomatic Journey

Nicholas Barrington began his dramatic diplomatic career with a post in Afghanistan at a time the country was barely known to the world's headline writers. The narrative of his 37 year career in the British Foreign Office is woven with compelling insights on the countries to which he was posted and which are focal points of international attention: Afghanistan, Iran, Egypt and Pakistan. Serving in Iran during the political storm of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, he had to navigate his way through the drama of a new political order, while his time in Cairo coincided with the assassination of President Sadat. In his rich and varied career, Barrington served as High Commissioner to Pakistan, a subject on which he writes authoritatively. Exploring the complex power relations between Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif and examining the multifaceted conflicts in Kashmir and Afghanistan, this book sheds an invaluable new light on the interaction between Islam, the West and British Foreign Policy in the 20th Century. With erudition and wit, these unique memoirs will prove essential reading for those seeking to understand the political tensions and international issues of the post-war world.

Table of Contents:
CONTENTS Page No. PART I Chapter 1 Joining the Foreign Office and Language Student 1 Chapter 2 Oriental Secretary in Kabul 12 Chapter 3 Desk Officer and Resident Clerk in London 26 Chapter 4 Brussels and the European Community 30 Chapter 5 First Tour in Pakistan. The Kashmir War 38 PART II Chapter 6 Home Again. HMS Fearless 56 Chapter 7 The Private Office with Michael Stewart 62 Chapter 8 The Private Office with Alec Douglas-Home 76 Chapter 9 EnjoyableTokyo. Also Hanoi 88 Chapter 10 Head of Department in London 112 PART III Chapter 11 Cairo, with Sadat 120 Chapter 12 With the Ayatollahs in Iran 138 Chapter 13 A Session in New York 164 Chapter 14 Ringmaster of the London Summit 170 Chapter 15 Under Secretary at the Foreign Office (1) 179 Chapter 16 Under Secretary at the Foreign Office (2) 192 PART IV Chapter 17 First Months in Islamabad (and Cricket) 200 Chapter 18 Leading to a Ceasefire, and a Death 213 Chapter 19 Prime Minister Benazir 225 Chapter 20 Afghanistan 234 Chapter 21 Nawaz Sharif and the Gulf War 243 PART V Chapter 22 Visit by the Princess of Wales 250 Chapter 23 Life in Islamabad. Drugs and other Responsibilities 259 Chapter 24 Another Prime Minister Dismissed, including Nuclear Issues 270 Chapter 25 Kashmir 277 Chapter 26 Goodbye to Pakistan 287 Chapter 27 Coda: Policies after 9/11 297 ILLUSTRATIONS APPENDIX I Lessons of Iraq APPENDIX II Letters to the Times INDEX

About the Author :
Sir Nicholas Barrington was a career diplomat for 37 years prior to his retirement in 1994. He has served in a variety of posts overseas including Afghanistan, Iran, Egypt and Pakistan, where he ended as High Commissioner. He also served in Japan and Brussels. His home postings included three and a half years as a private secretary to two British Foreign Secretaries. In retirement he has been active in building bridges between East and West. He is the author of A Passage to Nuristan (I.B.Tauris) an account of his travels to remote areas of Afghanistan in the 1960s.