Akhtar Abdur Rahman

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General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 12th Infantry Division
In office
1974–1977
Personal details
Born11 June 1924
Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Military)

Akhtar Abdur Rahman[a] (11 June 1924 – 17 August 1988), was a Pakistan Army general who served as the 5th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1987 until his death in 1988. He previously served as the 7th Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence from 1979 to 1987. During both Indo Pak wars of 1965 and 1971, he oversaw action with his own unit 45 Field Regiment Artillery (Fateh Qasar-i- Hind 1971) in Sundra and Hussainiwala sectors respectively.

As the DG

Members of Parliament and headed the key ministerial portfolios several times.[2][3]

Early life and education

Akhtar Abdur Rahman was born on 11 June 1924 in

Government College University (Faisalabad) in 1941, subsequently earning a bachelor's degree in Science and Statistics[2] in 1945, followed by a Master of Science in Economics in 1947.[7]

Military career

Rising through the ranks

General Akhtar Abdur Rahman joined the

lieutenant-colonel, but he remained second-in-command of the artillery regiment in Lahore. After cease fire in September 1965, newly promoted Lt Colonel Akhtar commanded his unit 45 Field Regiment Artillery and moved it to Pakistani occupied territory of war in Sundra Sector where his unit 45 Field Artillery remained deployed till February 1966.[7] After the war, he was promoted to the rank of colonel, while being stationed with the IV Corps. Later, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier and transferred to the northern areas of the country, where he commanded an infantry brigade in Azad Kashmir.[7]

In 1971 Indo Pak War, just before his promotion to a Major General, he again saw his own 45 Field Regiment Artillery in action at Hussainiwala Sector where 45 Field displayed tremendous valour in achieveing a bold victory over Qasar-i-Hind Citadel. His unit 45 Field Regiment Artillery was later awarded battle honor of 'Fateh Qasar -i- Hind 1971' by Army Headquarters, as he was instrumental in capturing the Indian fortress of Qaiser-e-Hind.

Lieutenant General and appointed him Director General of the ISI.[7]

Soviet–Afghan War

When the Soviet Union deployed its 40th Army in Afghanistan, Pakistan's top military base led by Akhtar, believed that

Congressman Charlie Wilson
.

While he was still DG ISI, General Akhtar's influence on Pakistan's

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, the highest ranking four-star rank in the Pakistan Armed Forces.[7]

Death and investigation

On 17 August 1988, General Akhtar Abdur Rahman died in a

MOSSAD and the Afghan KHAD
(in retaliation of Pakistani support for the Mujahideen in Afghanistan), or an alliance of the four intelligence agencies along with the dissident groups in the Pakistan Army, were involved in the incident.

Not long after, a board of inquiry was set up to investigate. It concluded 'the most probable cause of the crash was a criminal act of sabotage perpetrated in the aircraft'. It also suggested that poisonous gases were released that incapacitated the passengers and crew, which explains why no Mayday signal was given.[116] There was also speculations about other facts involving the details of the investigation. Although a flight recorder (black box) was installed in the aircraft, it was not located after the crash. To this day, the cause of the plane crash remains unknown and has given a rise to many conspiracy theories.

Personal life

General Akhtar married Rashida Akhtar Khan in 1951 and had four children: Akbar Akhtar Khan (born 1953), Humayun Akhtar Khan (born 1955), Haroon Akhtar Khan (born 1957), and Ghazi Akhtar Khan (born 1959).

Controversies

Corruption charges

In one of the

New York Times investigations,[12] General Akhtar Abdur Rahman, as the head of Pakistani intelligence agency, helped funnel billions of dollars in cash and other aid from the United States and other countries for the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan, to support their fight against the Soviet Union. The same report mentioned that a Credit Suisse account was opened in 1985, in the name of three of General Abdur Rahman's sons. Years later, the account would grow to hold $3.7 million, as what the leaked records show. According to the paper, two of the general's sons, Akbar Akhtar Khan, the oldest of General Akhtar's children, and Haroon Akhtar Khan
, did not respond to the requests for comment on the reporting project. In a text message, Ghazi Akhtar Khan, the youngest of the Akhtar brothers, said the information about the accounts was "not correct," adding, "The content is conjectural." The claims remain unproven.

Awards and decorations

Nishan-e-Imtiaz

(Military)

(Order of Excellence)

Hilal-e-Imtiaz

(Military)

(Crescent of Excellence)

Sitara-e-Basalat

(Star of Good Conduct)

Tamgha-e-Imtiaz

(Military)

(Medal of Excellence)

Tamgha-e-Diffa

(General Service Medal)

Sitara-e-Harb 1965 War

(War Star 1965)

Sitara-e-Harb 1971 War

(War Star 1971)

Tamgha-e-Jang 1965 War

(War Medal 1965)

Tamgha-e-Jang 1971 War

(War Medal 1971)

Pakistan Tamgha

(Pakistan Medal) 1947

Tamgha-e-Sad Saala Jashan-e-

Wiladat-e-Quaid-e-Azam

(100th Birth Anniversary of

Muhammad Ali Jinnah)

Tamgha-e-Jamhuria

(Republic Commemoration Medal)

1956

Hijri Tamgha

(Hijri Medal)

1979

Books mentioning General Akhtar

  • Fateh by Haroon-ur-Rasheed
  • Silent soldier by Mohammad Yousaf
  • The Bear Trap by Mohammad Yousaf and Mark Adkin
  • Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile
  • Ghost Wars by Steve Coll
  • A Case of Exploding Mango's Mohammad Hanif
  • Profiles of Intelligence by Brigadier Syed A. I. Tirmizi

See also
  • History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991)

References

  1. Urdu
    : اختر عبد الرحمن‎
  1. ^ a b "Gen Akhtar Abdul Rahman, the man behind the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan". 17 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Staff report (17 August 2010). "General Akhtar Abdul Rehman (Shaheed)". The Nation. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  3. ISBN 978-0-8108-7815-0
    .
  4. ^ Rahi, Arwin (25 February 2020). "Why Afghanistan should leave Pakistani Pashtuns alone". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  5. ^ Shah, Mariam (12 August 2012). "An Unsung Hero of Modern History: Gen Akhtar Abdur Rehman". PKKH. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  6. ^ Ghuman, Jagmeet Y. (7 October 2009). "Bishop Cotton School Celebrates Sesquicentennial Amidst Much Fanfare". Hill Post. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Khan, Salman (17 August 2012). "General Akhtar Abdul Rahman Shaheed (1924–1988)". The News International. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  8. ^ "Humayun Akhtar Khan General Akhtar Abdur Rehman in 1955 in East Pakistan". 11 August 2010.
  9. ^ The Battle of Hussainiwala and Qaiser-I-Hind: The 1971 ….
  10. ^ By Humayun Akhtar Khan (9 January 2006). "Major General Akhtar Abdur Rehman with Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in Murree in 1975".
  11. ^ By Humayun Akhtar Khan (9 January 2006). "General Zia – ul – Haq and Major General Akhtar Abdur Rehman with Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in Murree, 1976".
  12. ^ Jesse Drucker, Ben Hubbard (20 February 2022). "Vast Leak Exposes How Credit Suisse Served Strongmen and Spies". The New York Times. NY. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
Military offices
Preceded by Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence
1979–1987 		Succeeded by


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