Jump to content

Zahid Ali Akbar Khan: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
Ironboy11 (talk | contribs)
7,762 edits
No edit summary
Line 49: Line 49:
| url =http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/jul2009-daily/29-07-2009/col1.htm
| url =http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/jul2009-daily/29-07-2009/col1.htm
| accessdate = }}
| accessdate = }}
</ref><ref>{{Cite book
⚫
</ref> Akbar, who is also a [[military engineer]], collaborated closely with [[Abdul Qadeer Khan]] to set up and build the [[Kahuta Research Laboratories|Kahuta Facility]]. He, along with Khan, had completed a nuclear [[geological survey]] of [[Engineering Research Laboratories|Kahuta facility]] that was submitted to the Prime Minister's office.<ref name="AQKhan">A Q Khan. [http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=190332 "Bhutto, GIK and Kahuta"] ''The News'', 29 July, 2009</ref> According to Khan's column, Akbar designed and constructed the [[Kahuta Research Laboratories]] and its related facilities<ref>{{Cite web
| last =Barvarz
| first =Fartash
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title =Pakistan in the way
| publisher =
| date =
| location =
| pages =5
| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=yiaJOKiIx1kC&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=General+zahid+ali+akbar+a+q+khan&source=bl&ots=2l_mZdFiI8&sig=yjeonTCoRRfc3Ly7KNls_g8t9s4&hl=en&ei=qhsCTMyODpXAMrX75Ds&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CDoQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q&f=false
| doi =
| id =
| isbn = }}
</ref> Akbar, who is also a [[military engineer]], collaborated closely with [[Abdul Qadeer Khan]] to set up and build the [[Kahuta Research Laboratories|Kahuta Facility]]. He was made the head of the special military unit of military scientists and engineers of the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, ''Special Works Organization''<ref>{{Cite web
| last =John
| first =Wilson
| authorlink =Wilson John
| coauthors =
| title =Analysis
| work =Observer India
| publisher =Observer Research Foundation
| date =[[13 August]] [[2004]]
| url =http://observerindia.com/cms/sites/orfonline/modules/analysis/AnalysisDetail.html?cmaid=2237&mmacmaid=182
| format =html
| doi =
| accessdate =2010 }}
⚫
</ref>. He, along with Khan, had completed a nuclear [[geological survey]] of [[Engineering Research Laboratories|Kahuta facility]] that was submitted to the Prime Minister's office.<ref name="AQKhan">A Q Khan. [http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=190332 "Bhutto, GIK and Kahuta"] ''The News'', 29 July, 2009</ref> According to Khan's column, Akbar designed and constructed the [[Kahuta Research Laboratories]] and its related facilities<ref>{{Cite web
| last =Khan
| last =Khan
| first =A. Qadeer
| first =A. Qadeer

Revision as of 08:15, 30 May 2010

Zahid Ali Akbar Khan
AllegiancePakistan Pakistan
Service/branch Pakistan Army
Years of service1952 – 1990
RankLieutenant General
UnitPakistan Army Corps of Engineers
CommandsProject-706
Adjutant General (AG)
X Corps, Rawalpindi
Military Engineering Service
Battles/warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Siachen conflict of 1984
AwardsTamgha-i-Khidmat Class-III
Other workChairman Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA)
Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)

Lieutenant General Zahid Ali Akbar Khan is a now-retired Pakistan Army engineer officer, best known for his role in Pakistan's acquisition of weapons of mass destruction. He was delegated by then-Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to the fledgling uranium enrichment program alongside Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan in 1976, spearheading the construction of Kahuta Research Laboratories (then known as the Engineering Research Laboratories). Under the military dictator General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, he was made the principal military head of Project-706, Pakistan's integral atomic bomb project. Having fought in both the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1965 and 1971, Akbar also commanded the Rawalpindi-based X Corps during the start of the Siachen conflict in 1984.

After retirement in 1990, Zahid Akbar was appointed Chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) by then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Under Akbar, WAPDA surpassed its goals of electricity generation. He was then appointed Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, then-known as the BCCP, and oversaw Pakistan's victory of the 1992 Cricket World Cup, following which he has established and continues to oversee Scarsdale School in Lahore.

Biography

Early life

Zahid Akbar was born in Baba Khel Jalandhar (Burki Tribe), then in British Raj, the eldest child of a prominent Muslim lawyer. At the start of the Second World War his father volunteered for service with the British Indian Army and was killed in action during the Battle of Singapore. He received his elementary and intermediate education from Jalandhar. After the partition of India, Khan's family moved to Pakistan and settled in Lahore.

Education and Military Career

He was accepted as an officer-cadet at the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul in 1950 and was commissioned into the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers two years later. Having received his B.Eng. in system engineering from Military College of Engineering in 1954; he initially worked in the civil projects that were constructed and built by the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers. However, two years later, Akbar later completed his M.Eng. in control system engineering at the Pakistan Military Academy in 1960.

He later received his master's degree in strategic and war studies from National Defence University. After his education he became a chief engineer at the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers with a rank of major. His engineering career was at peak when he was involved in the beginning years of Pakistan's atomic deterrent program. He has served in the army in both the 1965 and 1971 wars.

Project 706

Main article: Project-706

In January 1972 Akbar, who was a Brigadier at the time, was selected by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to administer and co-direct the Project-706, reporting directly to Prime Minister Secretariate, the official residence of Prime Minister of Pakistan.[1][2] Akbar, who is also a military engineer, collaborated closely with Abdul Qadeer Khan to set up and build the Kahuta Facility. He was made the head of the special military unit of military scientists and engineers of the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, Special Works Organization[3]. He, along with Khan, had completed a nuclear geological survey of Kahuta facility that was submitted to the Prime Minister's office.[4] According to Khan's column, Akbar designed and constructed the Kahuta Research Laboratories and its related facilities[5]. Brigadier Akbar also provided his personal services and his Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers support to PAEC Chairman Munir Ahmad Khan to construct the nuclear tests site and areas in throughout the country, notably, Chagai Hills and Kirana Hills.

Zahid Akbar was then promoted to Major General and shifted as the Adjutant General (AG) at the GHQ. By the 1983, Akbar was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and was made commander of Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers to deal with senior people whose cooperation was required. After the end of Prime Minister Bhutto's regime, Akbar was given autonomous control of the Kahuta Project. Under Akbar's direction, PAEC and KRL spurred their work on atomic devices quickly[4].

By the time Akbar was promoted at the rank of the Lieutenant General, a noted nuclear physicist Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad conducted a cold test of a theoretically designed atomic device, His Majesty Explosives (HMX), in Kirana Hills. After the successful test, the Government of Pakistan transferred control over the nuclear power program from military to civilian hands. The PAEC, under Munir Ahmad Khan, was given full charge of developing the atomic weapons and the civilian nuclear program.

Siachen Operation

Zahid Akbar was promoted to Lieutenant General in March 1983 and was given command of the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers to deal with people who cooperation was needed in nuclear technology. By the time he was made the principal commander of Corps of Engineers, Pakistan had performed its first cold test of a fission device. Later, the nuclear power program was transferred into civilian hands. Munir Ahmad Khan subsequenty became a head of the program. Due to his services, General Zia-ul-Haq made Akbar the X Corps's Corps Commander. He would lead the corps in the Siachen conflict, when the Indian Army launched Operation Meghdoot in 1984[6].

Post-retirement

Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board

Zahid Akbar retired from the Pakistan Army in 1987 and became Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (then known as the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan or BCCP) in 1988. It was during his tenure that Pakistan won the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

Heading WAPDA

Due to his strong engineering background, the Government of Pakistan appointed him as a chairman of WAPDA, the water and power generation megacorporation[7]. In 1990, he then became the chairman of Water and Power Development Authority or WAPDA in 1990. Having closely work in Pakistan's atomic program, he suggested to the Government Pakistan's nuclear and atomic power plants be placed under the direction of his utility, in order to end international concerns that the plants are involved in weapons production. The Government's response to this suggestion was positive. However, then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif turned down his offer down.[8]

References

  1. ^ Khan, Abdul Qadeer (July 29, 2009). "Bhutto, Zia ul Haq Aur Kahuta". Jang Group of Newspapers (in Urdu). Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory: A. Qadeer Khan. p. 1. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  2. ^ Barvarz, Fartash. Pakistan in the way. p. 5. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ John, Wilson (13 August 2004). "Analysis" (html). Observer India. Observer Research Foundation. Retrieved 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ a b A Q Khan. "Bhutto, GIK and Kahuta" The News, 29 July, 2009
  5. ^ Khan, A. Qadeer (July 29th, 2009]). "Bhutto, Zia ul Haq Aur Kahuta" (html). A.Q. Khan. draqkhan.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/History/1984/289-Manning-Siachen-Glacier.html
  7. ^ http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=2305
  8. ^ "Pakistan: Nuclear Chronology" Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), accessed 30 November, 2009
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zahid_Ali_Akbar_Khan&oldid=364987576"