Iqbal Ahmad Akhund (born 21 August 1924) is a Pakistani former diplomat and writer who served as the 7th

permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations ( ur, ) is Pakistan's diplomatic representative to the United Nations (UN). The permanent Representative ( UN ambassador) is the head of Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the Unite ...

and the 5th

national security advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

to the 11th prime minister of Pakistan,

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

for foreign affairs and national security. He also served as chairperson of the

Group of 77 The Group of 77 (G77) at the United Nations (UN) is a coalition of 134 developing countries, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 fou ...

(G77) from 1976 to 1977. A former head of the United Nations Centre Against Apartheid, Akhund also served as a

Special Representative of the Secretary-General A Special Representative of the Secretary-General is a highly respected expert who has been appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to represent them in meetings with heads of state on critical human rights issues. The representativ ...

and

United Nations Assistant Secretary-General An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-s ...

from 1979 to 1987.

Early life

Akhund was born in

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...

Sindh Province Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

. His father was a session judge in

British Indian government British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and retired in the mid-1950s as a chief justice of

Khairpur Khairpur( Sindhi and ur, ) is a city and the capital of the Khairpur District, in Pakistan's Sindh province. History The Talpur dynasty was established in 1783 by Mir Fateh Ali Khan, who declared himself the first ''Rais'', or ruler of Sindh, ...

. In 1945, Akhund obtained his master's degree with economic and political science in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

. Following the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, his family emigrated from India to Pakistan and they settled in Karachi.

Career

Akhund joined the foreign services after completing his

civil services The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

in 1948. He was appointed at various posts during his career such as permanent representative to the United Nations, assistant secretary-general at the United Nations, the president of the Security Council, and

president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council The president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council is the presiding officer of that body. The position voted for by members of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on a yearly basis. Election The Economic and S ...

. After retiring from foreign services, he was appointed as the national security advisor in the

government of Benazir Bhutto A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, Executive (government), e ...

from 1988 to 1990. Before serving at the UN, he served as ambassador of Pakistan to Egypt,

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and France. Prior to his retirement from foreign services on security, he was appointed as United Nations Resident Coordinator in Lebanon, and chairperson of the Security Council Committee on Sanctions against

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

, a part of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

Publications

* * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhund, Iqbal 1924 births Living people Ambassadors of Pakistan to Egypt Ambassadors of Pakistan to France Ambassadors of Pakistan to Yugoslavia Indian emigrants to Pakistan Pakistani writers People from Hyderabad State Permanent Representatives of Pakistan to the United Nations Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations United Nations Security Council officials