Anton Devcich and Ross Taylor followed in the next two overs, Devcich lbw to awkward left armer Sohail Tanvir for one, Taylor making four, falling to a sharp lifter from giant left armer Mohammad Irfan, who clipped the shoulder of his bat and lobbed to point.
Opener Martin Guptill looked good in getting to 32, although ending his innings with the batsman limping with a hamstring twinge, which will be assessed overnight ahead of the second and final T20 tomorrow morning (NZT).
At the 10-over mark New Zealand had reached 61 for four, however allrounder Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi and wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi put on 51 in 5.5 overs to get some substance to the innings.
Anderson hit 48 off 37 balls, including four sixes, and Ronchi made a brisk 33 off 28 balls.
However after that, New Zealand fell away, managing just 25 runs off the last five overs of the innings.
Pakistan's response began well, with Sarfraz taking charge.
His belligerent approach worked well. He swept fast-medium debutant Matt Henry for six, favoured the mid on-mid wicket region and carried Pakistan to the victory.
At the end of the six-over power play, Pakistan were 44 without loss. New Zealand had needed early wickets to put some heat on their opponents.
They'd feel aggrieved they didn't have opener Awais Zia lbw to Nathan McCullum on 18, and Sarfraz had a scare when he edged Mitchell McClenaghan just short of third man.
Brilliant fielding by Devcich, and slick work by bowler McCullum combined to run out Zia at 51, and when Ronchi's direct throw ran out Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan were 60 for two after 10 overs, on a par with New Zealand at the same point.
Sarfraz completed his maiden T20 50 by dispatching Anderson into the crowd at mid wicket but then survived a close call on a run out on 56.
However the arrival of Akmal hastened the win. He displayed fine strokeplay, chiefly responsible for 14 coming off the 16th over from Henry.
The big plus for New Zealand's bowlers came from speedster Adam Milne, who worked up serious pace, three times exceeding the 150kph mark.
But the tourists' simply didn't have enough runs to play with.
The teams meet a second time on the same pitch tomorrow before starting a five-game ODI series next week.
New Zealand omitted bowlers Kyle Mills and Dan Vettori, batsmen Tom Latham and Dean Brownlie from their squad of 15. Expect a couple of changes for tomorrow's match.
Pakistan's fielding was sharp and the bowling smart, with plenty of variations in pace and line. Seamers Irfan and Tanvir picked up two wickets apiece.
New Zealand fell fractionally under the average first innings score in a T20 in Dubai, which is 136.
