Latest news with #Sitara-e-Imtiaz
Express Tribune
5 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
CJCSC confers civil awards
General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Deputy Chairman Development Control Committee and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), on Tuesday conferred civil awards on 47 eminent scientists and engineers serving under the National Command Authority for their meritorious services. According to the ISPR, the investiture ceremony, held at Chaklala Garrison, Rawalpindi, was conducted on behalf of the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Among the recipients, 10 officers were awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz, 21 received the President's Award for Pride of Performance, and 16 were honored with Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.
NDTV
10-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Osama Bin Laden, Nukes, Djinns: Pak Army Spokesperson's Family Ties
New Delhi: There's one common denominator that brings terrorist Osama Bin Laden, nuclear weapons and djinns to the same room -- Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the Director General of Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Tensions between India and Pakistan have been escalating in recent weeks, forcing Lt General Chaudhry to make more media appearances than he is used to. That has put the spotlight on his family. Lt General Chaudhry is the son of Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, a nuclear engineer once honoured by the Pakistani state, and later sanctioned by the United Nations for his alleged contacts with terrorist organisations, including al-Qaeda. During his decades-long tenure with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Mahmood played a key role in the development of Pakistan's nuclear infrastructure, contributing to the construction of uranium enrichment plants and the design of reactors necessary for Pakistan's transition from uranium to plutonium-based weapons capability. These facilities form the backbone of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. But it is Mahmood's post-retirement affiliations and ideological inclinations that have raised the most concerns among Western intelligence agencies. In the early 2000s, Mahmood co-founded Ummah Tameer-e-Nau (UTN), which claimed to be an NGO operating in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. UTN's activities included building schools and infrastructure in Kandahar. US and Pakistani intelligence later discovered that the organisation served as a cover for deeper engagements with terror networks. According to the United Nations, Mahmood and his colleague Chaudhri Abdul Majeed met Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri in August 2001, weeks before the 9/11 attacks. While no conclusive evidence emerged to suggest that nuclear weapons technology had been transferred, the meetings triggered alarm in Washington and led to Mahmood's arrest and interrogation by Pakistani authorities. "UTN provided Usama bin Laden and the Taliban with information about chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. During UTN visits to Afghanistan, Bashir-Ud-Din met Bin Laden and Al-Qaida leaders and discussed nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. During 2001, Bashir-Ud-Din also met Mullah Omar, listed as Mohammed Omar Ghulam Nabi. During a follow-up meeting, an associate of Usama bin Laden indicated that he had nuclear material and wanted to know how to use it to make a weapon. Bashir-Ud-Din provided information about the infrastructure needed for a nuclear weapons program and the effects of nuclear weapons," the United Nations statement read. The ISI eventually released Mahmood, claiming that he lacked the technical know-how to independently assemble a nuclear weapon. Born in Pakistan and educated in the United Kingdom, Mahmood was conferred the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan's third-highest civilian honour, by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Ironically, Mahmood later became a vocal critic of Sharif. Mahmood's scientific writings also feature djinns, the mythical beings that feature prominently in Islamic literature. According to Mahmood, these beings are key to solving earth's energy crisis. His son, Lt General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, emerged professionally through a separate channel, the Pakistan Army. Trained as an officer in the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Chaudhry has held various postings, including within the military operations directorate and the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DESTO), an institution involved in Pakistan's defence research. DESTO had been subjected to US sanctions following Pakistan's nuclear tests in 1998, though these were eased after 9/11 to facilitate cooperation in the War on Terror. According to the book The Man from Pakistan by investigative journalists Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins, Mahmood viewed Pakistan's nuclear arsenal not as an asset but as the collective property of the Muslim community. He believed that nuclear weapons should be shared with other Islamic countries, particularly those confronting the West. The book describes a 2001 meeting in Kandahar during which Mahmood and Majeed offered technical guidance to al-Qaeda operatives.
News18
10-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
Who Is Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, Father Of Pakistan ISPR Chief With al-Qaeda & Taliban Links?
Last Updated: Bashiruddin Mahmood, father of Pakistan's ISPR chief Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary, is a nuclear scientist who was sanctioned by UN for providing chemical information to al-Qaeda The father of Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary is a nuclear scientist, who has been sanctioned by the United Nations for providing the Taliban and al-Qaeda with information about chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood is known for his eccentric views on science, as he had once claimed that djinns could be used to generate electricity. As per the UN, Bashiruddin had met with slain al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and 'provided information about the infrastructure needed for a nuclear weapons programme and the effects of nuclear weapons". Bashiruddin also founded the Ummah Tameer-e-Nau (UTN) in 1999 – a right-wing organisation that was banned and sanctioned by the United States in 2001. He was among those who were listed and sanctioned by the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee in December 2001. He was also sanctioned as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States' Office of Foreign Assets Control, with an address listing of the Al-Qaeda Wazir Akbar Khan safe house, Kabul. His Projects Bashiruddin is believed to have studied engineering in the United Kingdom and Germany. He was honoured with Pakistan's third-highest civilian honour, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Later, however, Bashiruddin became a critic of the politician, and supportive of jihadists in Afghanistan. He subscribes to a brand called 'Islamic science", which holds that the Quran is a fount of scientific knowledge. Bashiruddin has also published papers concerning djinni, which are described in the Quran as beings made of fire. He has proposed that these entities could be tapped to solve the energy crisis, and he has written on how to understand the mechanics of life after death. 'I think that if we develop our souls, we can develop communication with them," Bashiruddin Mahmood said about djinni in The Wall Street Journal in an interview in 1998. 'Every new idea has its opponents," he added. 'But there is no reason for this controversy over Islam and science because there is no conflict between Islam and science." Bashiruddin came to prominence as an engineer in the 1970's when he worked out a technique for detecting leaks in steam pipes at a Canadian-built reactor, the Karachi nuclear power plant, in Pakistan. Bashiruddin also spearheaded the development of the Kahuta plant near Islamabad, which, according to a 1992 issue of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, has the capacity to produce about 100 kg of enriched uranium a year, enough for half a dozen bombs. In an interview with The Financial Times, Bashiruddin said he opposed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty on the ground that Pakistan needed to carry out test explosions to develop peaceful uses of atomic energy. After his arrest in 2001, Bashiruddin had admitted to meeting with Osama bin Laden. But he stressed that he only discussed raising funds for a technical college in Afghanistan. The ISI released him after it concluded that Bashiruddin did not possess the technical knowledge to pass on nuclear weapons secrets to al-Qaeda. His Prophecies Following his retirement from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Bashiruddin wrote books on doomsday, seeking to merge religious scripture with science. In 'Mechanics of the Doomsday and Life after Death', he warned that the Last Hour is not very far off. 'A few hundred years, this way or that, is of little significance. The end is imminent," he wrote, as quoted by ThePrint. First Published: May 10, 2025, 11:10 IST
Business Recorder
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
‘Maryam's govt sets new benchmark for journalists' welfare'
LAHORE: Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has said that she considers the protection of media workers' rights and being their voice as her responsibility and mission. Under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's leadership, the Punjab government has taken historic steps over the past year for the welfare of journalists and continues to undertake every possible effort for the betterment of the journalistic community, Azma said while speaking at a reception hosted in honour of journalists and columnists who received the Sitara-e-Imtiaz from the government. The event was attended by Secretary Information Tahir Raza Hamdani, Director General Public Relations Ghulam Saghir Shahid, and other distinguished guests. Azma Bokhari maintained that providing accurate and authentic information to the public is the true responsibility of a journalist. Journalists who engage in fact-based reporting are always the standard-bearers of truth, and the awards they receive are a true acknowledgement of their hard work and professional abilities. On this occasion, she also strongly criticized those elements disguised as journalists who promote lies, provocation, and misinformation through YouTube and social media, stating that such individuals do not deserve to be called journalists. Azma Bokhari further mentioned that, following special directives from Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, concrete and historic steps are being taken to resolve journalists' issues, ensure their protection, and provide them with the necessary facilities. It may be noted that the federal government has honoured renowned journalists Salman Ghani, Muzammil Suhrawardi, Nasrullah Malik, Kamran Shahid and Muneeb Farooq with the Sitara-e-Imtiaz. Paying tribute to them, Azma Bokhari said that this honour is a matter of pride not only for the individuals themselves but for the entire journalistic community. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
PPP Secretary General Senator Taj Haider passes away at 83
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Central Secretary General and senior politician Senator Taj Haider passed away at the age of 83 after a brief illness. According to his family, the PPP leader was undergoing treatment at a local hospital. His janaza prayer will be held on Wednesday after Zuhrain prayers at Imbargah Yasrab in Phase IV DHA, Karachi. Taj Haider was born on March 8, 1942, in an academic family in Kota, Rajasthan. He received his early education from Government Boys High School, Ranchhor Line Karachi. He entered the field of fine arts and also wrote for television. He also played the role of Professor Audiwala in his drama serial "Abla Paa". He also wrote columns in various newspapers. Taj Haider attended the 1967 Socialist Convention and formally joined PPP in the same year. He was one of the founding members of the Party, who was also awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz for scientific services in 2012. In 2006, he was also awarded the 13th PTV Award for Best Drama Serial Writer. According to the family, the deceased had been undergoing treatment at a local hospital. PPP leader Waqar Mehdi expressed deep sorrow over his passing, saying, "He was a long-time companion and an outstanding political worker.
