In the memory of Muhammad Akram Zaki (late) – a veteran diplomat, statesman and an intellectual – Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) held a condolence reference on December 30, 2017, commemorating his invaluable services for Pakistan and precious contributions to the academic world.
The session was attended and addressed, among others, by Begum Tahira Jahan Zaki, wife of the late ambassador, DG-IPS Khalid Rahman, Ambassador (r) Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, Ambassador (r) Ayaz Wazir, Ambassador (r) Qurban, Brig (r) Said Nazir, Saeed Ahmed Qureshi, former deputy chairman Planning Commission and member IPS-National Academic Council, Qasim Bughio, chairman, Pakistan Academy of Letters, Shoaib Suddle, former IG police, and Professor Dr Sajid Khakwani.
The speakers shed light on different personality traits of the deceased statesman maintaining that his services for the country and contributions to the academic world will be remembered and benefited from for a long time. His prolonged association with IPS as member, National Academic Council and his intellectual contributions to the Institute – whether in form of deliberations or publications – were also highlighted in the session.
It’s worth a mention here that the former diplomat, who met his Creator on November 30, 2017 following a cardiac failure, was an invaluable asset for the country. Actively associated with the Pakistan movement since his early youth, he joined the country’s foreign services in 1954 and served as an ambassador of Pakistan in the countries like China, USA, Nigeria and Philippines. He finally concluded a distinguished career spanning over four decades in 1993. He then rose to the position of Secretary General in Ministry of State for Foreign Affairs; and was later elected as a Member of the Senate of Pakistan from Federal Capital Islamabad for a six year term (March 21, 1997 – March 20, 2002).
