Ikram Sehgal ( ur, ; bn, ইকরাম সেহগাল) is a Pakistani defence analyst and security expert. He is a retired
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...
officer.
Personal life
Sehgal was born to a
Punjabi father and
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
mother.
On his mother's side, Bengali politicians
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy ( bn, হোসেন শহীদ সোহ্রাওয়ার্দী; ur, ; 8 September 18925 December 1963) was a Bengali barrister and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 t ...
and
J.A. Rahim
Jalaluddin Abdur Rahim ( Urdu: جلال الدين عبدالرحيم; Bengali: জালালুদ্দিন আবদুর রহিম; also known as J. A. Rahim) (27 July 1906 – 1977) was a Bengali communist and political philosopher ...
were his grandmother's first cousins.
Early life and education
Sehgal spent his entire childhood, adolescence and education in the former
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
, i.e. today's
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. His father was a commanding officer of the 2nd
East Bengal Regiment
The East Bengal Regiment ( bn, ইস্ট বেঙ্গল রেজিমেন্ট) is an infantry regiment ( regimental system type) and the largest military formation of the Bangladesh Army.
History
The East Bengal Regiment was for ...
. When 2nd
East Bengal Regiment
The East Bengal Regiment ( bn, ইস্ট বেঙ্গল রেজিমেন্ট) is an infantry regiment ( regimental system type) and the largest military formation of the Bangladesh Army.
History
The East Bengal Regiment was for ...
was in
Comilla
Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla was ...
, he studied in a
convent school
Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...
there. He spent several years of his school life in
Comilla
Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla was ...
. His college life started in
Sylhet
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...
. His father was then the
Sector Commander of
EPR in Sylhet. He was admitted to
MC College,
Sylhet
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...
. Later he was admitted to
Notre Dame College
Notre Dame College (Notre Dame College of Ohio or NDC) is a private Roman Catholic college in South Euclid, Ohio. Established in 1922 as a women's college, it has been coeducational since January 2001. Notre Dame College offers 30 majors and i ...
in
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
. From there he joined the
Pakistan Military Academy
Pakistan Military Academy ( ur, ), also referred to by its acronym PMA. PMA is an officers training school located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established in 1947. It is the sole service academy ...
in
Kakul
Kakul (Kakol) is a village situated in the Tehsil and District Abbottabad, at an elevation of 1300 metres, 5 km northeast of center of Abbottabad city near the Thandiani Hills. Abbottabad is a District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Paki ...
in 1964 as a cadet of the 34 PMA Long Course.
Military career
Ikram Sehgal graduated from the
Pakistan Military Academy
Pakistan Military Academy ( ur, ), also referred to by its acronym PMA. PMA is an officers training school located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established in 1947. It is the sole service academy ...
(PMA), Kakul, in October 1965. Commissioned into 2E Bengal (Junior Tigers), he served the regiment till 1968, before qualifying as a pilot in Army Aviation, where he served from 1968 to 1971.
He became a
Prisoner of War
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
(POW) in April 1971, while serving in the former
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
and was sent to the Panagarh POW Camp in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. In July 1971, Sehgal escaped from the prison.
He became the first Pakistani Prisoner of War to escape from an Indian POW camp.
Sehgal was posted to 44 Punjab (now 4 Sindh) in November 1971. He saw action as company commander in the
Thar Desert
The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent, Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's Li ...
, receiving a ‘battlefield promotion’ to the rank of major on 13 December 1971. He took part in counter–guerrilla operations in
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
in 1973.
He later worked as a
commercial pilot A commercial pilot licence (CPL) is a type of pilot licence that permits the holder to act as a pilot of an aircraft and be paid for their work.
Different licenses are issued for the major aircraft categories: airplanes, airships, balloons, glid ...
.
Business career
He set up a business in 1977, specializing in trading and counter trade. He is currently chairman, Pathfinder Group Pakistan, which includes two of the country's largest private security companies.
Leadership
Sehgal is also involved in national and international organizations. He is a Member of the
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
(WEF); International Organization for Migration (IOM); director, East West Institute (EWI), a US-based think-tank; and member, WEF Global Agenda Council (GAC) for
counter-terrorism
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
.
Khalid Ahmad wrote in The Express Tribune that he held "outspoken views" on the conduct of the armed forces during the
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...
, which ultimately led to the secession of East Pakistan.
However,
India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...
noted that he had written only in 1998:
That was before the
Hamoodur Rahman Commission
The Hamoodur Rahman Commission (otherwise known as War Enquiry Commission), was a judicial inquiry commission that assessed Pakistan's political–military involvement in East-Pakistan from 1947 to 1971. The commission was set up on 26 Decem ...
report became public.
Later life
He is a regular contributor of articles in newspapers that include: ''
The News'' and the Urdu daily ''
Jang''. He appears regularly on
current affairs Current affairs may refer to:
News
* Current Affairs (magazine), ''Current Affairs'' (magazine) a bimonthly magazine of culture and politics.
* Current affairs (news format): a genre of broadcast journalism
* Current Affairs, former name for Behi ...
programs on television as a ‘defense and security analyst’.
[90 minutes in an hour of crisis, an article by Ikram Sehgal on Media Monitors Network website]
Published 22 January 2002, Retrieved 26 April 2017Ikram Sehgal
at EastWest Institute
The EastWest Institute (EWI), originally known as the Institute for East-West Security Studies and officially the Institute for EastWest Studies, Inc., was an international not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank focusing on international confli ...
References
External links
Ikram Sehgal
at MBM Holdings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sehgal, Ikram
Living people
Punjabi people
Pakistani people of Bengali descent
Pakistan Army Aviation Corps officers
Pakistani military writers
Pakistani prisoners of war
Escapees from Indian detention
Pakistani columnists
Pakistani media personalities
Commercial aviators
1946 births
Lawrence College Ghora Gali alumni
20th-century Bengalis
21st-century Bengalis