Zahid Ali Akbar Khan

Zahid Ali Akbar (; b. 1933) , is a former engineering officer in the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, known for his role in Pakistan's acquisition of nuclear weapons, and directing the Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL), a top secret research facility developing the clandestine atom bomb project.

His career started in the Corps of Engineers as civil engineer before being posted to conduct the survey of Kahuta where he designed, established and later directed the enormous construction of the research site that was critical in the clandestine development of the atomic bomb program. In addition to his secretive role in the atomic bomb feasibility in the 1970s, he took up charge on collecting military intelligence on the India's nuclear program but later in the 1980s, he was appointed as an Engineer-in-Chief at the Army GHQ. His war appointment also included the command of the X Corps but appointed as Chairman of Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) as a secondment in 1984–89.

His role in the Pakistan Atomic Bomb Program remained well hidden until a memoir written by Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan was released in 2009.

Early life and career in the military Zahid Ali Akbar Khan was born in Jalandhar, Punjab in British India, in 1933. His grandfather was commissioned in the 7 Haryana Lancers regiment while his father was a well-known lawyer in Jalandhar.

After the partition of India in 1947 that led to the independence of Pakistan from the British Empire, his family eventually moved to Lahore and completed his education from there. Akbar applied and was accepted at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, and decided to attend the Military College of Engineering in Risalpur in 1950 to study engineering.

In 1953, he graduated with bachelor's degree in civil engineering with honours, and was commissioned as 2nd Lt. in the Corps of Engineers of Pakistan Army.

In 1973, Col. Akbar was sent to join the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore, and graduated with the MSc in civil engineering, focusing towards the surveying, in 1975. During this time, he aided to oversee in the matters of civil engineering of the Army GHQ at the vicinity of the JS HQ in Rawalpindi to President Illahi. Initially, the project was under Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, an engineer, who was utilizing the controlled gaseous method at the Air Force Laboratory then-located in the Chaklala Air Force Base.

Acting on advice from Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, Prime Minister Bhutto turned to his army chief General Zia-ul-Haq to find a capable engineering manager. In August 1976, Brig. Akbar had been well known of his involvement in the civil engineering projects with the Pakistan Army, and was approved by then-army chief General Zia-ul-Haq to be part of the clandestine atomic bomb programme. A draft report was submitted to then- Defence Secretary Ghulam Ishaq Khan who after conferring with General Ali Nawab authorized the acquiring of the land surveyed by the Corps of Engineers in 1976.

In 1977, Brig. Akbar became one of the directors at Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL) and worked on interdisciplinary projects with the army engineers from Corps of EME. After meeting with President Zia-ul-Haq, Brig. Akbar recommended and lobbied for Munir Ahmad Khan's leadership in the program as Brig. Akbar noted to President Zia that Munir Khan had a breadth of knowledge of understanding the military affairs and knew the broad knowledge would be vital in an interdisciplinary project that would involve not just physics, but chemistry, metallurgy, ordnance, mathematics, and engineering, which he found lacking in other civilian scientists. In 1980, Major-General Akbar was promoted to three-star army general, and took over the command of the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers as its Engineer-in-Chief to deal with senior people whose cooperation was required. He led the several military operations against the Indian Army on the Siachen when Indian Army seized the control over the glaciers from Pakistan.

Lieutenant general J.D. Khan, his predecessor, gave him a detailed briefing about this operational plan and particularly stressed the importance of intelligence keeping a watch on Indian moves beyond Leh in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

After the war

After the Siachen conflict in 1984, Lieutenant general Akbar was appointed by President Zia as the chairman of Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), an energy conglomerate, as a Secondment. During this time, he began cementing influential ties with the civil servants in the civilian bureaucracy, which irked Prime Minister M.K. Junejo. Initially, President Zia had appointed Lieutenant general Akbar as vice-army chief over the senior-most Lieutenant general Mirza Aslam Beg, then-GOC-in-C of the XI Corps.

He led DESTO's project in classified black projects to compete with missile gap with India, after the country test firing the short-range missile. He sought retirement from his public service, and was eventually succeeded by Nasim Hasan Shah in 1992.

Autobiography

Journey Through History, Lahore: Ferozsons, 2020.