The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Osama held in `Final Option'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 15, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Osama held in `Final Option'

Staff Reporter

BOOK RELEASE: Air Vice-Marshal (retd.) C.V. Parker (left) releasing the book authored by Brigadier Baqir Shameem (extreme right) by handing over a copy to Ms. Shameem in Hyderabad on Sunday. — Photo: K. Gajendran

HYDERABAD: A physically challenged child with a sweet tooth for chocolates helps a 30-member Pak-U.S. patrol team to capture the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden. And from there, a racy plot that criss-crosses India, Pakistan, Chicago and even the Himalayas starts unfurling.

A book on these premises, with generous dashes of the Kashmir imbroglio, Indo-U.S.-Pak diplomacy, the deadly potential of nuclear warfare and much more, is what makes Brigadier Baqir Shameem, a retired Indian Army officer now settled in Hyderabad, stake a claim to become the author of "India's first war thriller".

No place for complacency

Speaking at the release function of the book, `The Final Option', here on Sunday by Air-Vice Marshal (Retd.) C.V. Parker, Brig. Shameem said he was trying to project one possibility that could be used to detrimental effect by India's enemies, adding that the country could not afford to be complacent. Brig. Shameem draws from his experience of 32 years in the Army and his later stay in Bahrain for the book.

With Pakistan bargaining for Kashmir by dangling bin Laden like a carrot in front of the United States, the book promises a exciting reading, though it is quite early to call it a thriller of Dan Brownesque proportion. The `Final Option', the release of which was accompanied by a reading session by The Little Theatre, has been published by Frog Books and is available in leading bookstores for Rs.200.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail