Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Muhammad Akram (; 4 April 1938 – 5 December 1971) was a

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

in the

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 ...

who was cited with the Nishan-e-Haider posthumously after the military confrontation took place in railway station in Hilli, East-Pakistan.

Biography

Muhammad Akram belongs to

Dinga Dinga is a City Tehsil , District Gujrat, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It lies between the rivers Jhelum and Chenab. The main highway that runs from Lahore to Rawalpindi is about 23 km (16.7 mi) northeast of Deengah. Deengah is ...

, a small city in

Gujrat District Gujrat ( Punjabi and ur, ), is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan. It is bounded on the northeast by Mirpur, on the northwest by the River Jhelum, which separates it from Jhelum District, on the east and southeast by the Chenab Ri ...

. He was born on 4 April 1938. He was a military brat and his father, Malik S. Muhammad, was an enlisted personnel in the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

who later retired as a '' Havildar'', an army n.c.o., in the

. After securing his graduation from a local middle school in

Nakka Kalan Naka Kalan is a village of Jhelum District in the Punjab province of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and depend ...

, Akram entered to join the Military College Jhelum– an

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

and an army's OCS in

Jhelum Jhelum ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for p ...

, Punjab. In 1953, he dropped out from the Military College Jhelum due to his father's deployment, and had to take the High School equivalency exam where he took examinations in geography and intermediate education. In 1956, he was enlisted in the

and posted with the 8th Punjab Regiment near India-Pakistan border. In 1959, Muhammad Akram was selected to attend the Pakistan Military Academy but only spent a semester after being deployed in East-Pakistan as a Naik (equivalent to Corporal). He received commission in the Army through his years of attendance at the army's OCS in

in 1961 in the Frontier Force Regiment, and was attached to the East Pakistan Rifles from 1963 to 1965. In 1965, Capt. Akram was stationed in different parts of the West-Pakistan before being deployed in East-Pakistan as a quartermaster with the Frontier Force Regiment till 1967–68.

Nishan-e-Haider action

In 1968–70, Maj. Akram served with the 4th battalion posted with the Frontier Force Regiment, eventually becoming its

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...

by 1971. During the east Pakistan War of 1971, the 4th FF Regiment, which at that time was commanded by then Lt. Col. Muhammad Mumtaz Malik, was placed in the forward area of the Hilli Municipality (under Hakimpur Upazila, Dinajpur District), in what was then East Pakistan. The regiment came under continuous and heavy air, artillery and armour attacks from the Indian Army. Despite enemy superiority in both numbers and firepower, Akram and his men repulsed many attacks, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. He was killed in action in the attack and was posthumously awarded the Nishan-e-Haider, Pakistan's highest military honour. He was buried in the village of Boaldar, Thana/Upozila-Hakimpur (Banglahilly), District-Dinajpur. There is a monument, Major Akram Shaheed Memorial, in the midst of

city.

Awards and Decorations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akram, Muhammad 1938 births 1971 deaths Punjabi people People from Gujrat District People from Jhelum Pakistan Military Academy alumni Pakistan Army officers People of East Pakistan People of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistani military personnel killed in action Recipients of Nishan-e-Haider Hashemite people Alids Awan Alvis