Introduction

The introduction addresses the book’s major theme that Britain has maintained a diplomatic influence in Pakistan out of proportion to its economic, military and political strength in the decades after the 1947 Partition of the Indian Subcontinent to the War on Terror. It addresses the question how has Britain punched above its weight through an examination of the influence of individual High Commissioners and Ambassadors, the historic ties arising from colonial rule, the impact of the rising Pakistani Diasporic community in Britain and the soft power attraction of the English language. The book is based on source material which has not been viewed before, drawn from archives in England, the United States and Pakistan.