Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar HS HI(M) (Urdu: رضوان اختر) is a former three-star rank Pakistan Army general. He is a former spymaster who served as Director General of the ISI.[3] He served from 8 November 2014 to 11 December 2016. On 8 October 2017, he announced his pre-mature retirement from the army.[1]
Rizwan Akhtar | |
|---|---|
| رضوان اختر | |
| President National Defence University, Islamabad | |
| In office 11 December 2016[1] – 9 October 2017 | |
| 26th Director General of the ISI | |
| In office 7 November 2014 – 11 December 2016 | |
| President | Mamnoon Hussain |
| Prime Minister | Nawaz Sharif |
| Preceded by | Zaheer-ul-Islam |
| Succeeded by | Naveed Mukhtar |
| Director General Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Pakistan |
| Branch/service |  Pakistan Army |
| Years of service | 1982 - 2017[2] |
| Rank |  Lieutenant-General |
| Unit | Frontier Force Regiment |
| Commands | |
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan (2001–present) |
| Awards | |
Military career
editRizwan Akhtar was commissioned in the Pakistan Army in the Frontier Force Regiment in September 1982. He commanded an infantry brigade and infantry division in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) after serving as Operation and Planning Officer at Peshawar Corps.
As Director General of the Pakistan Rangers in Sindh, Major General Rizwan Akhtar was the Mastermind behind the Karachi Operation. Akhar played a key role to restore normalcy in the Financial Capital which was reeling under high crime rate, gang-wars and terrorism. Rizwan Akhtar's successor Bilal Akbar took Karachi Operation to its logical end by completely bulldozing the armed wings of the political parties oiling gang war in the city, which contributing in the recovery of the city by which Karachi was declared one of the safest cities of the world by 2017.[4][5]
Akhtar is also considered to have extensive experience of counterinsurgency from a previous posting in the border region of South Waziristan. After getting promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in September 2014, he was posted as Director General of the ISI. He was the President of the National Defence University but took pre-mature retirement from the army in October 2017.[1][3]
Academic career
editRizwan Akhtar is a graduate of the Command and Staff College in Quetta, National Defense University, Islamabad (NDU) and United States Army War College, Pennsylvania, USA. At the US Army War College, Akhtar authored a strategy research project report titled ‘US-Pakistan trust deficit and the war on terror’ in fulfillment of the requirements of the Master in Strategic Studies Degree.[6]
Awards and decorations
edit| Hilal-e-Shujaat
(Crescent of Bravery) 2015 |
Hilal-e-Imtiaz
(Crescent of Excellence) |
Tamgha-e-Baqa
1998 | |
| Tamgha-e-Istaqlal Pakistan
2002 |
10 Years Service Medal | 20 Years Service Medal | 30 Years Service Medal |
| 35 Years Service Medal | Tamgha-e-Sad Saala Jashan-e-
(100th Birth Anniversary of 1976 |
Hijri Tamgha
(Hijri Medal) 1979 |
Jamhuriat Tamgha
(Democracy Medal) 1988 |
| Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha
(Resolution Day Golden Jubilee Medal) 1990 |
Tamgha-e-Salgirah Pakistan
(Independence Day Golden Jubilee Medal) 1997 |
Command & Staff College | United Nations
(2 Deployments) |
Foreign decorations
edit| Foreign Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| UN MONUC Congo Medal (2 Deployments) | ||
References
edit- ^ a b c Syed, Baqir Sajjad (11 December 2016). "Rizwan Akhtar takes over as ISI chief". Dawn. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ "Former ISI chief Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar takes early retirement".
- ^ a b "Lt-Gen Rizwan Akhtar named ISI chief". Dawn. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ^ Khan, Raza (2016-07-28). "Over 2,000 terrorists, target killers arrested during Karachi operation: Rangers". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ Rehman, Zia Ur (2023-08-27). "TEN YEARS OF THE 'KARACHI OPERATION'". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ Boone, Jon (22 September 2014). "Pakistan appoints Rizwan Akhtar to head intelligence agency". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2014.