ISLAMABAD: Former foreign secretary Akram Zaki passed away at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Saturday. He was 86.

He was admitted to the Coronary Care Unit at about 12 noon and died at 5.35pm.

According to Pims administrator Dr Altaf Hussain, he had a history of cardiac disease. He underwent angiography in 1993 and later in 2006 had open-heart surgery.

Born on Oct 27, 1931, Mr Zaki remained associated with the Pakistan Muslim League and had served as chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs. He also performed his duties as Pakistan’s ambassador to China, Nigeria, the Philippines and the United States. He worked as the secretary general and minister of state for foreign affairs in his long career in the Foreign Service spanning the terms of Z.A. Bhutto and Gen Ziaul Haq.

In 1997, he was elected a member of the Senate from Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2017