Mahmud Ali Durrani (; born 1941) is a retired Pakistani two-star rank

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

officer, author of

security studies __NOTOC__ Security studies, also known as international security studies, is an academic sub-field within the wider discipline of international relations that studies organized violence, military conflict, national security, and international s ...

, and a former National Security Advisor to the Pakistani government, serving from 2008 until his termination in 2009. Durrani had previously served as

Pakistan Ambassador to the United States The Pakistan Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C., Pakistan Embassy, Washington, D.C., and Pakistan's diplomatic mission to the United States. The official title is Ambassador of the Islami ...

Early years and military career

Durrani was born in 1941 in

Abbottabad Abbottabad is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in the country and 6th largest in the province by population, and serves as the headquarter of its namesake tehsil and district ...

, which is in the

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

province (formerly

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November ...

) of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. He is an ethnic

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

from the

Durrani The Durrānī (, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribal confederation of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, ...

tribe. He started his schooling at Army Burn Hall College in Srinagar in 1947. After graduating from

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) is a military academy located nearby Kakul village in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Established in October 1947, it is the only service academy in Pakistan that trains cadets to serve as army of ...

in 1961 in the 24th PMA Long Course (same batch as General Jehangir Karamat, who later became the Army chief) and winning the sword of honour,Ayaz Amir
"A second Junejo in the making?"
''The News'', 10 January 2009 he served in various command, staff and instructional posts for about 16 years. From 1977 to 1982, he was Pakistani Armed Forces attaché in Washington, D.C. He then served as military secretary to the president of Pakistan until 1986. Durrani was the posted as the commander the 1st Armoured Division in Multan, and being the former MS to the president persuaded the then Army chief and president General

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also se ...

to witness the tank exercise in

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur (Urdu: ; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 13th largest city of Pakistan and List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 8th most populous city of Punjab. Bahawalpur is the capital of Bahawalpur Division. Founded in ...

desert on 17 August 1988. It was on its way back to Islamabad that the C-130 carrying the presidential and higher military entourage crashed right after taking off from Bahawalpur airport, killing everyone on board. From 1992 to 1998, Durrani was the chairman of the

Pakistan Ordnance Factories The Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) is a major firearms and a defence contractor headquartered in Wah Cantt, Punjab, Pakistan. Described as "the largest defence industrial complex under the Ministry of Defence Production, producing convent ...

Board.New Pakistani Envoy Staunchly Denies Country Is Terrorist Breeding Ground
''

The Washington Diplomat ''The Washington Diplomat'' is an independent monthly newspaper. It features one-on-one interviews with foreign ambassadors. It also contains articles examining international relations, politics, trade, U.S. foreign policy, diplomacy, law, ...

'', September 2006. Mahmud He retired as a Major General of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

Academic and diplomatic career

Durrani was also an advisor in the

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...

in London, which he served from 2001 to 2004. After retiring from the Pakistani Army, he was actively involved in the peace efforts between Pakistan and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. As part of a process sponsored by the United Nations, he also worked with former senior officials from the United States, Russia and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

to find a peaceful resolution to the Afghan crisis. Durrani was appointed as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

in June 2006, replacing another General Jehangir Karamat. They both belong to the Armoured corps of Pakistan Army, with Durrani being the third Armoured Corps officer to take the helms of ambassadorship at Washington, D.C.; the first one was Lt Gen Ejaz Azim, who was ambassador during General Zia-ul-Haq and Reagan era. Durrani was also called "General Shanti" by an Indian newspaper for his effort in trying to promote peace with India and Pakistan.Khalid Hasan
"New Pakistan ambassador dubbed General Shanti"
''Daily Times'', 3 April 2006

National Security Advisor

Durrani was appointed National Security Advisor to Prime Minister

Yousaf Raza Gillani Yusuf Raza Gilani (born 9 June 1952) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Pakistan from 2008 to 2012. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan since 2024. Chairman Gilani served as the acti ...

in April 2008 at the behest of

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the ...

who, at the time, only held the post of co-chairman

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

(he became the President in September 2008). However, Durrani was fired from his job as NSA by Gillani in January 2009 for not "taking Prime Minister into confidence" about Kasab's nationality, even though Durrani had consulted the ISI chief who had in turn consulted the President Zardari before announcing that

Ajmal Kasab Muhammad Ajmal Amir Kasab (13 July 1987 – 21 November 2012) was a Pakistani terrorist and a member of the Islamism, Islamist militant organization Lashkar-e-Taiba through which he took part in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, 2008 Mumbai terr ...

was a Pakistani national.

Books

His book ''India and Pakistan: The Cost of Conflict and the Benefits of Peace'' and ''Pakistan’s Security Imperatives: Year 2000 and Beyond'' argued that in the process of Indo-Pakistan normalisation, based on the Balusa Group's recommendations, Pakistan should take the initiative in "re-engaging" India after the 1999 Kargil operation and subsequent negative events associated with Pakistan policies. Strikingly, the stages of engagement outlined in the book were followed closely by President

after 2001: "Preliminary Secret Contacts, Stage Two Secret Meetings, Summit, Follow-up Meetings."Najam Sethi
"Editorial: Good decision, bad implementation"
''Daily Times'', 10 January 2009 He is the father of three children.

References

External links

The Durrani affair by Khalid HasanTo The Point with Mahmud Ali Durrani
Rajya Sabha TV. 18-Feb-2015
Walk The Talk with Mahmood Ali Durrani

NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. It was founded in 1984 by economist Prannoy Roy and journalist Radhika Roy. NDTV began as a production house for news segments, ...

. 13-Sep-2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Durrani, Mahmud Ali 1941 births Army Burn Hall College alumni Living people Ambassadors of Pakistan to the United States Pakistan Army major generals Pashtun military personnel National Defence University, Pakistan alumni Pakistan Military Academy alumni People from Abbottabad District