Lieutenant General
Rizwan Akhtar
HS  HI(M)
رضوان اختر
President of the National Defence University
In office
11 December 2016[1] – 9 October 2017
21st Director General of the ISI
In office
7 November 2014 – 11 December 2016
PresidentMamnoon Hussain
Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif
Preceded byZaheer-ul-Islam
Succeeded byNaveed Mukhtar
Director General Rangers (Sindh)
NicknameSpy Master
Military service
Allegiance Pakistan
Branch/service Pakistan Army
Years of service1982 - 2017[2]
Rank Lieutenant-General
UnitFrontier Force Regiment
Commands
Awards

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 Oct 2017, he announced his pre-mature retirement from the army.[1]

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 had been assigned with the task to lead the Karachi operation. 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

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.[4]

Awards and decorations

Hilal-e-Shujaat

(Crescent of Bravery)

2015

Hilal-e-Imtiaz

(Military)

(Crescent of Excellence)

Tamgha-e-Baqa

(Nuclear Test Medal)

1998

Tamgha-e-Istaqlal Pakistan

(Escalation with India Medal)

2002

10 Years Service Medal 20 Years Service Medal 30 Years Service Medal
35 Years Service Medal Tamgha-e-Sad Saala Jashan-e-

Wiladat-e-Quaid-e-Azam

(100th Birth Anniversary of

Muhammad Ali Jinnah)

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

Quetta

Instructor's Medal

United Nations

MONUC Medal

(2 Deployments)

Foreign decorations

Foreign Awards
 United Nations UN MONUC Congo Medal (2 Deployments)

References

  1. ^ a b c Syed, Baqir Sajjad (11 December 2016). "Rizwan Akhtar takes over as ISI chief". Dawn. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Former ISI chief Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar takes early retirement".
  3. ^ a b "Lt-Gen Rizwan Akhtar named ISI chief". Dawn. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  4. ^ Boone, Jon (22 September 2014). "Pakistan appoints Rizwan Akhtar to head intelligence agency". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
Military offices Preceded byZaheer-ul-Islam Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence Succeeded byNaveed Mukhtar
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