Remember this name and face.
Major General Atif bin Akram, Director General Pakistan Rangers Punjab, has been appointed to this position since February 2024. Information attributed to present and former personnel of the army and Punjab Police repeatedly identifies him as the officer who is allegedly responsible for planning and leading some of the most gravely serious actions against Pakistani protesters in recent years. These are allegations, not judicial verdicts. But they are so detailed, repeatedly surfacing, and grave that independent criminal investigations into them are indispensable.
1. Islamabad, 26 November 2024 Information attributed to internal military sources indicates that Atif bin Akram was allegedly the senior officer who commanded the Rangers operation under the direct instructions of Asim Munir. The gravest allegation is that when orders were given to fire on unarmed protesters, one soldier hesitated and did not shoot. Atif bin Akram allegedly took the rifle from him and fired himself, breaking the soldiers’ hesitation and initiating the shooting. Investigation into this specific allegation should be conducted through operational records, inspection of weapons, eyewitness statements, communication records, and identification of every officer present at the command post.
2. Muridke, 13 October 2025 The allegation is that protesters were deliberately brought to a confined space after assurances of negotiations from Mohsin Naqvi. When the crowd was surrounded, reports indicate that Punjab Police contingents refused to fire on the protesters. According to received information, Mohsin Naqvi allegedly ordered the use of Rangers on the direct instructions of Asim Munir to Atif bin Akram. Rangers personnel then opened fire. The full chain of command must come to light: Who planned the operation, who provided the assurances of negotiations, who ordered the crowd to be confined, who authorized direct firing, and which units carried out the firing.
3. Azad Jammu and Kashmir, September/October 2025 Allegedly, the same pattern was repeated in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Atif bin Akram, as DG Rangers Punjab, is accused of commanding and guiding Rangers personnel who fired on protesters under the instructions of Asim Munir. Details of the deployed units, commanding officers, issued weapons, and ammunition used must be brought before the public and subjected to independent review.
4. Azad Jammu and Kashmir, July/August 2026, ongoing According to information attributed to a senior Punjab Police officer: “People were fired upon by Pakistan Rangers. Many of these personnel were in plain clothes and police uniforms. We did not fire on unarmed protesters.” This allegation raises another extremely grave question: Were Rangers personnel deliberately deployed in plain clothes or police uniforms to conceal their identity, shift responsibility to the police, and obstruct subsequent accountability? This question cannot be answered by official denials. Independent investigations are essential for it. Every weapon used must be traced. Every bullet fired must be accounted for. Every deployed officer and soldier must be identified.
All written orders, telephone calls, wireless messages, operational instructions, and movement records must be preserved. Major General Atif bin Akram is entitled to due legal process and the presumption of innocence. But position, uniform, and institutional protection cannot place anyone above investigation. These allegations pertain to the extrajudicial killing of those unarmed and innocent Pakistani citizens who were demanding their political rights. Investigations into them must begin with the person who pulled the trigger, then proceed to operational commanders, then to political and military officials, and ultimately to Asim Munir, who is accused of authorizing these actions. This is not pronouncing punishment through social media. But neither does donning a uniform grant anyone exemption. Follow the evidence and chain of command wherever they lead, go there, and hold every responsible person accountable.