Sayyid Akbar

Sayyid Akbar
سید اکبر
The only surviving photo of Sayyid Akbar, released by the government of Pakistan in the 1950s
Born1921 or 1922
Khost, Southern Province, Emirate of Afghanistan
Died16 October 1951 (aged 29)
Rawalpindi, West Punjab, Dominion of Pakistan
Cause of deathGunshot
Known forCarrying out the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan
Criminal statusExecuted
Spouse(s)Musammat Malmal Bibi (c. 1940s)
Children2
ParentBabrak Khan (father)
ConvictionMurder
Criminal penaltyDeath
Details
VictimsLiaquat Ali Khan
Date16 October 1951
Military career
AllegianceRebels of Mazrak Zadran
ConflictsAfghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947

Sayyid Akbar[a] (c. 1921 or 1922 – 16 October 1951) was an Afghan national who was the assassin of Liaquat Ali Khan, the first prime minister of Pakistan. He shot the latter twice in the chest at point blank range at a political gathering of around 100,000 people in the Company Bagh, Rawalpindi, on 16 October 1951.

Akbar was born in Khost, Afghanistan, to the Pashtun chieftain Babrak Khan. Akbar had participated in the Afghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947 against the governments of both Afghanistan and British India, and around this time, sought refuge in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of British India, which later became part of Pakistan in the wake of the partition of British India.

After Akbar assassinated Liaquat Ali Khan, a group of police officers instantly shot and killed him. As such, Akbar's motives for the assassinations remain unclear and various theories persist. Most of the Pakistani public had speculated him to be an agent of the Soviet Union, as Khan's foreign policy sided with the United States-led Western Bloc against the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc. Others assert him to be a Pashtun nationalist who supported the cause of Pashtunistan.

Early life and activities

Sayyid Akbar was born in 1921 or 1922[1] in Khost, Southern Province, Afghanistan.[2] He was the son of Babrak Khan, a Zadran chieftain.[3] When his father died, his elder brother, Mazrak became the new chief.[3] Mazrak would fight against the Afghan government during the Afghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947 to support the restoration of King Amanullah Khan. Sayyid participated in these revolts, fighting for Mazrak.[4]

Assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan

On 16 October 1951,[1] during a public meeting, Sayyid Akbar Khan shot the Prime Minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan twice in a park in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan. The assassin was fatally shot by police officers seconds later. Liaquat was rushed to a hospital, where he died after a blood transfusion.[5]

Motives

Akbar's motives for the assassination have not been resolved, as he was shot dead by police shortly after attacking Khan.

The lack of evidence has led to the rise of many conspiracy theories regarding Khan's assassination,[6] particularly theories that put forward the idea that he was killed at the behest of foreign powers. There was speculation among the Pakistani public that Akbar had been enlisted as an agent of the Soviet Union to kill Khan, who had been steering Pakistan towards the United States in the ongoing Cold War. However, others theories have instead alleged that the assassination was orchestrated by the United States.[5] The assassination had come seven months after the Rawalpindi conspiracy, a failed coup d'état by the Pakistan Army against Khan and his government.

The Afghan government has denied any role in Khan's assassination and stated that Akbar was acting independently.[7]

In a 1972 interview, Akbar's brother, Mazrak Zadran, denied that his brother killed the prime minister.[8]

Family

Sayyid had two sons,[9] including Dilawar Khan.[10] His other son was Farooq Babrakzai, who in 2025 released a book titled The Assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, which criticises the Pakistani government's official account of events.[11] Sayyid's wife was Musammat Malmal Bibi.[12]

Mazar Khan[13]
fl. late 19th century
Babrak Khan
d. October 1924		Khan Muhammad[14]
Mazrak Zadran
fl. 1900s – 1972		Sayyid Akbar Babrak[15]
b. 1921 or 1922
d. 16 Oct 1951		Sher Muhd Khan[16]
fl. 1924 – 1947		Izmair[17]
fl. 1924 – 1945		5 or 14 others[note 1]
Dilawar Khan[21]
b. 1939 or 1940		Muhammad Umar Babrakzai[note 2]
fl. 1980
  1. ^ Sources disagree how many sons Babrak had - Jamna Das Akhtar states that Babrak had 18 sons,[18] while a Pakistani government inquiry titled The Assassination of Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan states that Babrak had 9 sons.[19] David B. Edwards states that Babrak had 2 sons,[20] but this appears to be false, as at least 4 of his son's names are known.
  2. ^ Muhammad Umar Babrakzai was Babrak Khan's grandchild[22] although it's unclear through what father.

Notes

  1. ^ Pashto: سید اکبر

References

  1. ^ a b Muñoz, Heraldo (2014). Getting Away with Murder: Benazir Bhutto's Assassination and the Politics of Pakistan. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-393-06291-5. The killer was a twenty-nine-year-old Afghan by the name of Said Akbar
  2. ^ Collier's ... Year Book Covering the Year ... P.F. Collier & Son. 1952. p. 4. the Pakistan government declared officially that the assassin had been identified as a national of Afghanistan named Said Akbar from the village of Khost.
  3. ^ a b Fetherling, George (2011-11-16). "AKBAR, Said". The Book of Assassins. Random House of Canada. ISBN 978-0-307-36909-3.
  4. ^ State, United States Department of (1977). Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 1995.
  5. ^ a b Khuro, Zarrar (December 27, 2010). "Unexplained assassinations". Tribune Pakistan. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  6. ^ "A tale of 'political martyrs' in Pakistan". Pakistan Today. 15 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Breaking the myths of Pakistan ruining Afghanistan". Pakistan Today. 12 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Memoir: The last speech of the first Prime Minister by Nazar Abbas". The Friday Times. 2012-11-15. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
  9. ^ The Assassination of Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan: Report of the Commission of Enquiry. Manager of Publications. 1952. p. 34. Said Akbar had come from the frontier Hotel and that he had with him his wife and two children
  10. ^ The Assassination of Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan: Report of the Commission of Enquiry. Manager of Publications. 1952. p. 21. Said Akbar's son Dilawar Khan admits that his mother occasionally used to go to the pictures with his father.
  11. ^ Babrakzai, Farooq (2025-12-21). "THE ASSASSINATION OF LIAQUAT ALI KHAN". Dawn. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
  12. ^ Pakistan Affairs. Information Division, Embassy of Pakistan. 1951. p. 3.
  13. ^ "ببرک خان ځدراڼ/صفيه حليم". dawatmedia24. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  14. ^ Adamec, Ludwig W. (1975). Historical and Political Who's who of Afghanistan (PDF). Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt. p. 130. ISBN 978-3-201-00921-8.
  15. ^ Fetherling, George (2011-11-16). "AKBAR, Said". The Book of Assassins. Random House of Canada. ISBN 978-0-307-36909-3.
  16. ^ Yapp, Malcolm (2001). British documents on foreign affairs: reports and papers from the foreign office confidential print. From 1946 through 1950. Near and Middle-East 1947. Afghanistan, Persia and Turkey, january 1947-december 1947. University Publications of America. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-55655-765-1.
  17. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20041217215440/http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/pakistan/pakintrigue.htm
  18. ^ Akhtar, Jamna Das (1969). Political conspiracies in Pakistan: Liaquat Ali's murder to Ayub Khan's exit. Punjabi Pustak Bhandar. p. 224.
  19. ^ The Assassination of Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan: Report of the Commission of Enquiry. Manager of Publications. 1952. p. 11.
  20. ^ Edwards, David B. (2002-04-02). Before Taliban: Genealogies of the Afghan Jihad. University of California Press. p. 329. ISBN 978-0-520-22861-0.
  21. ^ Zaidi, Syed (2010). "The Assassination of the Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan: The Fateful Journey" (PDF). nihcr.edu.pk. p. 81. Dilawar Khan was eleven years old boy. He was the son of Said Akbar, the alleged assassin
  22. ^ Brown, Vahid; Rassler, Don (2013). Fountainhead of Jihad: The Haqqani Nexus, 1973-2012. Oxford University Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-19-932798-0.
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