Akbar, a citizen of both Afghanistan and the United States, attended Diablo Valley College and transferred to Yale University.
[1] Akbar is from a political family, including Said Shamsoudin Majroh, who was the architect of Afghanistan's first constitution in 1964 and who had served as the Minister of Justice and Head of Tribal Affairs; Said Bahaoudin Majroh, who had served as Governor and was considered one of Afghanistan's leading intellectuals; and another influential member of the family was Shal Pacha, a tribal leader whose influence was particularly strong in the eastern region as well as the FATA areas of Pakistan.
Akbar's work on NPR received a National Journalism Award, a Third Coast International Silver Prize and an Overseas Press Club citation.
Along with his work in the media, Akbar has also been involved with the Hoover Institution in archiving and keeping records of Afghanistan's current events.
Akbar was also the co-director of Wadan Afghanistan, an NGO that he founded to focus on quick impact reconstruction projects in his native province of Kunar.