Rizwan Akhtar () is a former three-star rank Pakistan Army general. He is a former spymaster who served as Director General of the ISI. He served from 8 November 2014 to 11 December 2016. On 8 October 2017, he announced his pre-mature retirement from the army.
Military career Rizwan 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 played a key role in restoring normalcy in Karachi, which was reeling under high crime rate, gang-wars and terrorism.
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 but took pre-mature retirement from the army in October 2017.
Academic career Rizwan 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.
Awards and decorations
Hilal-e-Shujaat (Crescent of Bravery)
2015Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)
(Crescent of Excellence)Tamgha-e-Baqa (Nuclear Test Medal)
1998Tamgha-e-Istaqlal Pakistan (Escalation with India Medal)
200210 Years Service Medal20 Years Service Medal30 Years Service Medal35 Years Service MedalTamgha-e-Sad Saala Jashan-e- Wiladat-e-Quaid-e-Azam
(100th Birth Anniversary of
Muhammad Ali Jinnah)
1976Hijri Tamgha (Hijri Medal)
1979Jamhuriat Tamgha (Democracy Medal)
1988Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha (Resolution Day
Golden Jubilee Medal)
1990Tamgha-e-Salgirah Pakistan (Independence Day
Golden Jubilee Medal)
1997Command & Staff College Quetta
Instructor's MedalUnited Nations MONUC Medal
(2 Deployments)
Foreign decorations Foreign AwardsUN MONUC Congo Medal (2 Deployments)
References