Brilliant writer. For those who have not read his book "The Last Mughal" on the 1857 War of Independence, must do so. It is the best piece of history ever written about the subcontinent, very fair in its view of Muslims and an entirely unbiased account in which he holds the Brits responsible for a lot of the mess. It also reads like a thriller novel.

One interesting fact Dalrymple mentions: Every year the Indian economy grows by the size of the entire Pakistani economy. Only when all those who have played their part in bringing Pakistan to this sorry state understand the harm they have done to Pakistan will there be hope of Pakistan moving out of this sorry state of affairs. These include include Imran Khan, the incompetent and corrupt Zardari/Gilani government (which is unwilling to take any necessary decisions like putting sick enterprises like PIA back on track and clueless about economic management), the ambitious generals of Pakistan (of whom the less said the better), the tax-avoiding "elite", the selfish and hypocritical tribal chiefs in Baluchistan and FATA.

Only one comment so far on this fair and frank interview. That tells us our interest in contemporary literature in pakistan.