Lieutenant General Agha Ali Ibrahim Akram HI(M) SI(M) SK (Urdu: آغا علی ابراہیم اکرم; 22 September 1923 — 4 March 1989) better known as A. I. Akram was a three-star rank general, military strategist, author, historian, diplomat, and one of Pakistan's most influential soldier-scholars. In the 1980s, Akram was a well-known defence expert and defence analyst. Akram's most popular work was his biography of Khalid ibn al-Walid, The Sword of Allah which Akram published while serving in the Pakistan Army. For several years. it was compulsory reading in the Pakistan Army for admission into the Command and Staff College Quetta and has been on the leadership syllabus in the Malaysian Army.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Akram was once seen as a close confidant of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and his conceptual adviser.[12][13][14]
Akram served in several key positions including as Permanent Military Representative of Pakistan to CENTO in Ankara, Colonel Commandant Frontier Force Regiment, Deputy Martial Law Administrator - Zone F (NWFP) under President Yahya Khan and President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, GOC 7 Division, Military Secretary GHQ, and Colonel Staff HQ 15 Division.[15][16][17][18]
Akram dedicated his books, The Muslim Conquest of Egypt and North Africa to his son Hassan, The Muslim Conquest of Spain to his son Masood, The Falcon of The Quraish: Abdur Rahman The Immigrant of Spain to his brother Mahmud, and The Rise of Cordoba to his late wife Loge. Akram was fluent in Urdu, English, Farsi, Arabic, and Spanish, learning the latter two for research.[19][20][21][22]
In the 1980s, Akram stated he opposed nuclear weapons and suggested that Pakistan and other developing countries should use nuclear energy. Akram expected that by the end of the 20th century, only about 10 countries would have nuclear weapons.[23][24]
- ^ Pakistan (1978). The Gazette of Pakistan. p. 681.
- ^ Rahman, Mohammed Attiqur (1980). The Wardens of the Marches A History of the Piffers, 1947-1971. p. 190.
- ^ Sûrya India. Vol. 8. 1984. p. 71.
- ^ Andrew, Christopher (2018). The Secret World A History of Intelligence. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-24052-8.
- ^ Air University Library Index to Military Periodicals. Vol. 26. 1975.
- ^ Afghanistan Today. 1987.
- ^ Near East/South Asia Report. 1984.
- ^ Azam, Ikram (1992). Geopolitics, Political Geography, and Pakistan. p. 107.
- ^ Indo-Pak Conflicts Over Kashmir. pp. 186, 218.
- ^ The Pakistan Army: With a New Foreword and Epilogue. 1998. p. 166.
- ^ UFO's in the Quran. 2008. p. 102.
- ^ Journal of Peace Studies. Vol. 5. 1998.
- ^ Times of India Illustrated Weekly. Vol. 108. October 1987. pp. 20–21, 45.
- ^ India Today. Vol. 13. 1988.
- ^ Said, Hakim Mohammad (1973). Main Currents of Contemporary Thought in Pakistan: 1970-1972.
- ^ Pakistan, Hamdard Foundation (1990). Dialogue with a Galaxy of Scientists, Culturists, Historians, Educationists...
- ^ Defence Journal. Vol. 6. 2002. p. 139.
- ^ Pakistan (1978). The Gazette of Pakistan. p. 586.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
DJ9was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ The Rise of Cordoba. 1992.
- ^ Akram, A. I. (1980). The Muslim Conquest of Spain. p. 5.
- ^ Akram, A. I. (1977). The Muslim Conquest of Egypt and North Africa. Ferozsons. p. 3. ISBN 978-969-0-00224-2.
- ^ "War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Carter's New World; Interview with A. I. Akram". 2 September 1987.
- ^ ACDIS Bulletin. Vol. 4–6. 1982.