Ali Imran () is a fictional character in various Urdu language detective novels written by Asrar Ahmed under the pseudonym of Ibn-e-Safi. He serves as the titular protagonist in the Imran Series novels. He is usually referred to only by his last name in the context of the novels. Imran is written out as a bright and young Oxford graduate, holding both a master's degree and a doctorate in chemistry. Although being highly inquisitive and trained in the matters of criminology, Imran is portrayed rather as showing clumsiness at times to hide the fact that he is a spymaster for a special branch of secret service spy operatives, working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Like Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther, this facet of his personality serves also as comic relief throughout the novel series and teems the extreme morbidity and ruthlessness espionage with decent humour. Biography Early years Ali Imran is an ageless character. He is described to be in his late twenties in earlier novels, and in some later books, early thirties. Imran's childhood was briefly described by Ibn-e-Safi in one of the novels, Dr. Duago, when he was stating the reasons for Imran's paradoxical personality. Imran's mother was a pious Muslim lady, who wanted to see her son following the religion as well. However, Imran's father, Mr. Fazal Rahman (who was also the director general of the Intelligence Bureau's detective unit), chose an American missionary school for his early education. The contradictory teachings of his mother and his school transformed Imran's personality in such a twisted manner that after getting initially confused, he started ridiculing almost everything. Also, due to the strict and dictatorial personality of Fazal Rahman, Imran started living a dual personality from his childhood, acting differently at home and in the outside world. It is often told in the novels that Imran's family is Pashtun and descendant of Genghis Khan. See also: Family of Ali ImranTime in London After completing high school, Imran was sent to London to live with one of Mr. Rahman's English friends, who was a police officer. That friend urged Imran to study criminology, and even provided him with some cases for practical experience. It was during this time that Imran first met the Chinese criminal mastermind, "Sing Hee", and defeated a gangster named McLawrence, who had terrorised London.The entire story is mentioned in Imran Series novel Lashon ka