Chaudhry Abdul Majeed
Encyclopedia
Chaudhry Abdul Majeed D.Sc.
, is a Pakistani nuclear chemist and an atomic weapon
and technology expert. He is known as one of the pioneers of Pakistan's nuclear detterence programme, and has worked closely with former PAEC
Chairman Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan
's plutonium reprocessing project. He rose to prominence when he was apprehended by Pakistan's intelligence agencies in a joint operation in late October 2001. Majeed was also a one of the founding member of Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood
's Ummah Tameer-e-Nau
charity; an NGO which caused an international embarrassment for Pakistan.
, Punjab
, British Indian Empire. In 1955, Majeed attended University of Engineering and Technology of Lahore, and took his double B.Sc.
in Mathematics
and Chemistry
in 1959. The same year, he was admitted at the High-Tension Laboratory, a physics department for advanced courses in Nuclear sciences, of the Government College University
(GCU) where he did his M.Sc.
in Nuclear Chemistry. His master's thesis dealt with an extensive research on Geiger counter
and were written on "To study the characteristics of halogen counters", which was supervised by R. M. Chaudhry, which he took in 1962. After his degree, Majeed joined Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
(PAEC), and was assigned at the PAEC-Lahore Center under the directorship of dr. Ishfaq Ahmad.
However, in the 1964, Majeed went to Belgium with a scholarship
award by the PAEC, and attended Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
where he received his D.Sc.
in Nuclear Chemistry in 1968. The same year, Majid carried his academic research at the plutonium
facility in Belgium in the late 1960s. Majeed was trained at the Tihange
and Doel
, both plutonium facilities. There, he was a most-senior scientist and had access to most classified documentations on sensitive plutonium technology which is critical to developed the nuclear weapon. Majeed was also at the International Center for Theoretical Physics, invited by Abdus Salam
, during the 1970s and early 1980s. At ICTP, Majeed taught advanced courses in chemistry and mathematics as associate professor. At ICTP, Majeed published numerous research papers in the field of Spectroscopy
, neutron
and particle detector
s.
, in 1974 after India
had conducted a surprise nuclear test—codename Pokhran-I. At PAEC, he was sent to Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology
where he was assigned to the Nuclear Chemistry Division led by dr. Iqbal Hussain Qureshi. In 1974, Majeed was a part of Munir Ahmad Khan's team that had supervised the criticality
of second nuclear pile —PARR-II reactor. After the construction of the third nuclear pile—PARR-III, also known as The New-Labs; Majeed was the first technical director
, and was part of a team that supervised the reactor's criticality. An expert plutonium technology, Majeed, as junior scientist, is known for his contribution in plutonium reprocessing plant and the plutonium nuclear fuel cycle technology. Majeed was also a part of a team at the New Labs that had succeeded to attain the fresh supplies of weapon-grade plutonium isotopes, produced by the reactor. In 1990, Majeed was promoted and was made Director-general of Nuclear Chemistry Division (NCD) by Munir Ahmad Khan. Throughout 1990s, Dr. Majeed was responsible for underground work of nuclear reactors Khushab-I and CHASNUPP-I commercial nuclear power plant. At there, he was the director of Radiation and Nuclear Safety Division and was omitted from the weapons development teams.
He published extensively in the 1980s and 1990s on nuclear detectors and the use of x-ray diffraction, fluorescence
, and crystallography
to study a wide variety of materials and elements, including stainless steel, uranium
, plutonium
, and thorium
. Due to his work for the State, he was conferred with Tamgha-e-Imtiaz which was awarded to him by Prime minister
Nawaz Sharif
in 1998.
. He was accused of travelling through Afghanistan
without notifying the Government of Pakistan
. He was arrested in October 2001 in Islamabad
by joint-operation of Inter-Services Intelligence
and Federal Investigation Agency
, along with fellow atomic
scientist, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood
, because of their connections to Talibans. The Foreign Office spokesman of Pakistan had confirmed the raid and said: "They have not been arrested and they are not under detention," the spokesperson said,"adding that they were questioned over their involvement with an Afghan relief agency founded by Mahmood. It is just an investigation to look into the credentials of various non-governmental organisations who may have been working inside Afghanistan," the spokesman added.
In hoping of quick release from the intelligence agencies and went back to research at PAEC
, he confessed quickly. According to the FIA and ISI
's joint-Intelligence report, which was given to the Parliament's Committee on National Security and Defence Affairs, stated that dr. Majeed confessed quickly in which he said that Osama Bin Laden
did asked them to built either a radiological
or a biological weapon
. Majeed also confirmed Osama Bin Laden
saying that he could smuggled the natural uranium
from Uzbekistan
. Majeed, however, clearly refused to Laden and said: it's not easy and they cannot built a nuclear bomb for him alone. He also said to Laden that: "I'm not the nuclear weapon designer and it's not easy the way it looks. The Pakistani authorities, especially the Government of Pakistan
, are too sensitive and I may get arrested for nuclear trafficking which may result in ending my life".
American
CIA intelligence official said that the first interrogation of the two Pakistani scientist
s has resulted in an assessment that Mr. Mahmood and Dr. Majeed did not know enough to help build a nuclear weapon. "These two guys were nuclear scientists who didn't know how to build one themselves," the American official said. "If you had to have guys go bad, these are the guys you'd want they didn't know much."
His family filed a petition to Supreme Court of Pakistan
in 2001 but the Supreme Court announced a decision in favor of Government of Pakistan
. A team of nuclear scientists, along with Pakistani Parliamentarians
, under the leadership of Parliamentarian
Farhatullah Babar
, met with the Military and Civilian officials of Pakistani Government and requested to put dr. Majeed into house arrest. Instead of that, Mahmood was released in late December 2001 and was put in house arrest
. However, Majeed was not released and was interrogated harshly. According to his family, he was not allowed to meet any of his family member, including his children and wife.
He was forcefully asked to surrender his high civilian award, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz which was conferred to him in 1998 by then-Prime Minister of Pakistan
, Nawaz Sharif
. During a harsh interrogation of 5 years, he suffered a severe heart attack. That time, dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan
Scandal's pressure was already getting intensified to the Government. To avoid an intense public pressure, he was taken immediately but secretly to the military hospital
through a helicopter where the military doctors tried to save his life for hours. Later in the midnight, it was announced that he had died.
Ch. Abdul Majeed was a known atomic physicist and he was a close associate friend of former PAEC Chairman Munir Ahmad Khan (late). According to the Pakistan Nuclear Society Press release, it said that he was mistakenly arrested and he was not involved in development of nuclear weapons. After his death, he was re-awarded his "Tamgha-e-Imtiaz" award. He was also awarded a high-civilian award "Hilal-e-Imtiaz" with a State honour from Government of Pakistan. Government of Pakistan also issued an apology letter to his family, saying that "the State will never forget his work". He was seen with respect in Pakistan. He also worked in the PAEC as an engineer.
The NGO scandal heavily disturbed his imaged and his private life also. Even though, he heavily cooperated with intelligence agencies in hoping of freedom and went back to PAEC; he was declined to give any partial freedom. He was harshly interrogated for a long time which also resulted in his death. According to the dr. Bashir Syed, former President of the Association of Pakistani Scientists and Engineers of North America (APSENA), said:
"I know both of these persons and can tell you there is not an iota of truth that both these respected scientists and friends will do anything to harm the interest of their own country."
Parliamentarian Farhatullah Babar
, a family friend of dr. Majeed and currently spokesperson of the Prime Minister of Pakistan
, met the families of nuclear scientists recently, said:
“Dr. Majeed and Eng. Mahmood
has been wronged by the government and a signal has been sent to the Pakistani scientist that they would have to defend themselves in any eventuality which becomes too hot to handle for the government.”
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
, is a Pakistani nuclear chemist and an atomic weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
and technology expert. He is known as one of the pioneers of Pakistan's nuclear detterence programme, and has worked closely with former PAEC
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
Chairman Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
's plutonium reprocessing project. He rose to prominence when he was apprehended by Pakistan's intelligence agencies in a joint operation in late October 2001. Majeed was also a one of the founding member of Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood
Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood
Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, otherwise written as, Sultan Bashir-ud-Din Mehmood), and Manchester, United Kingdom. A controversial figure, Bashiruddin Mahmood is widely popular in Pakistan's scientific and religious circles for his scientific interpretation and its relation to Quran...
's Ummah Tameer-e-Nau
Ummah Tameer-e-Nau
Ummah Tameer-e-Nau or UTN is a militant organization banned by United States Department of the Treasury on December 20, 2001. It was also placed on Patriot Act Terrorist Exclusion List...
charity; an NGO which caused an international embarrassment for Pakistan.
Education
Majeed was educated in LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
, British Indian Empire. In 1955, Majeed attended University of Engineering and Technology of Lahore, and took his double B.Sc.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
in 1959. The same year, he was admitted at the High-Tension Laboratory, a physics department for advanced courses in Nuclear sciences, of the Government College University
Government College University
Government College University, Lahore is a co-educational public university located on The Mall in Lahore, Pakistan...
(GCU) where he did his M.Sc.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in Nuclear Chemistry. His master's thesis dealt with an extensive research on Geiger counter
Geiger counter
A Geiger counter, also called a Geiger–Müller counter, is a type of particle detector that measures ionizing radiation. They detect the emission of nuclear radiation: alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays. A Geiger counter detects radiation by ionization produced in a low-pressure gas in a...
and were written on "To study the characteristics of halogen counters", which was supervised by R. M. Chaudhry, which he took in 1962. After his degree, Majeed joined Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
(PAEC), and was assigned at the PAEC-Lahore Center under the directorship of dr. Ishfaq Ahmad.
However, in the 1964, Majeed went to Belgium with a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
award by the PAEC, and attended Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is a Dutch-speaking university in Flanders, Belgium.It is located at the centre of the historic town of Leuven, and is a prominent part of the city, home to the university since 1425...
where he received his D.Sc.
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
in Nuclear Chemistry in 1968. The same year, Majid carried his academic research at the plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
facility in Belgium in the late 1960s. Majeed was trained at the Tihange
Nuclear Plant Tihange
The Tihange Nuclear Power Station, along with Doel Nuclear Power Station, is one of the two large-scale nuclear power plants in Belgium. It is located on the right bank of the Meuse River in the Belgian district of Tihange, part of Huy municipality in the Walloon province of Liège...
and Doel
Nuclear Plant Doel
The Doel Nuclear Power Station is one of the two nuclear power plants in Belgium. The plant lies on the bank of the Scheldt, near the village of Doel in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The Belgian energy corporation Electrabel is the plant's largest stakeholder...
, both plutonium facilities. There, he was a most-senior scientist and had access to most classified documentations on sensitive plutonium technology which is critical to developed the nuclear weapon. Majeed was also at the International Center for Theoretical Physics, invited by Abdus Salam
Abdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
, during the 1970s and early 1980s. At ICTP, Majeed taught advanced courses in chemistry and mathematics as associate professor. At ICTP, Majeed published numerous research papers in the field of Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
, neutron
Neutron detection
Neutron detection is the effective detection of neutrons entering a well-positioned detector. There are two key aspects to effective neutron detection: hardware and software. Detection hardware refers to the kind of neutron detector used and to the electronics used in the detection setup...
and particle detector
Particle detector
In experimental and applied particle physics, nuclear physics, and nuclear engineering, a particle detector, also known as a radiation detector, is a device used to detect, track, and/or identify high-energy particles, such as those produced by nuclear decay, cosmic radiation, or reactions in a...
s.
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
Majeed came back to Pakistan from ICTP, after Abdus Salam had gravitated scientists to report to Munir Ahmad KhanMunir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
, in 1974 after India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
had conducted a surprise nuclear test—codename Pokhran-I. At PAEC, he was sent to Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology
Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology
The Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, or commonly known as "PINSTECH", is a multi-program science and technology national research institute managed by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. The PINSTECH offers a post-graduate and post-doctoral research in the field of nuclear...
where he was assigned to the Nuclear Chemistry Division led by dr. Iqbal Hussain Qureshi. In 1974, Majeed was a part of Munir Ahmad Khan's team that had supervised the criticality
Critical mass
A critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties A critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The...
of second nuclear pile —PARR-II reactor. After the construction of the third nuclear pile—PARR-III, also known as The New-Labs; Majeed was the first technical director
Technical director
The Technical Director or Technical Manager is usually a senior technical person within a software company, film studio, theatrical company or television studio...
, and was part of a team that supervised the reactor's criticality. An expert plutonium technology, Majeed, as junior scientist, is known for his contribution in plutonium reprocessing plant and the plutonium nuclear fuel cycle technology. Majeed was also a part of a team at the New Labs that had succeeded to attain the fresh supplies of weapon-grade plutonium isotopes, produced by the reactor. In 1990, Majeed was promoted and was made Director-general of Nuclear Chemistry Division (NCD) by Munir Ahmad Khan. Throughout 1990s, Dr. Majeed was responsible for underground work of nuclear reactors Khushab-I and CHASNUPP-I commercial nuclear power plant. At there, he was the director of Radiation and Nuclear Safety Division and was omitted from the weapons development teams.
He published extensively in the 1980s and 1990s on nuclear detectors and the use of x-ray diffraction, fluorescence
Fluorescence
Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation of a different wavelength. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore lower energy, than the absorbed radiation...
, and crystallography
Crystallography
Crystallography is the experimental science of the arrangement of atoms in solids. The word "crystallography" derives from the Greek words crystallon = cold drop / frozen drop, with its meaning extending to all solids with some degree of transparency, and grapho = write.Before the development of...
to study a wide variety of materials and elements, including stainless steel, uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
, plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
, and thorium
Thorium
Thorium is a natural radioactive chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. It was discovered in 1828 and named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder....
. Due to his work for the State, he was conferred with Tamgha-e-Imtiaz which was awarded to him by Prime minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
in 1998.
2001 debriefing and arrest
He was one of the founding members of a Pakistani militant NGO Organisation Ummah Tameer-e-NauUmmah Tameer-e-Nau
Ummah Tameer-e-Nau or UTN is a militant organization banned by United States Department of the Treasury on December 20, 2001. It was also placed on Patriot Act Terrorist Exclusion List...
. He was accused of travelling through Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
without notifying the Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
. He was arrested in October 2001 in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
by joint-operation of Inter-Services Intelligence
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
and Federal Investigation Agency
Federal Investigation Agency
The Federal Investigation Agency is an agency of Pakistan, under the Ministry of Interior, that serves as a federal criminal investigative body with one of the Directorate dealing as Pakistani body of Interpol. It has a wide role in anti-terrorism, anti-fascism, anti-corruption, human smuggling...
, along with fellow atomic
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
scientist, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood
Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood
Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, otherwise written as, Sultan Bashir-ud-Din Mehmood), and Manchester, United Kingdom. A controversial figure, Bashiruddin Mahmood is widely popular in Pakistan's scientific and religious circles for his scientific interpretation and its relation to Quran...
, because of their connections to Talibans. The Foreign Office spokesman of Pakistan had confirmed the raid and said: "They have not been arrested and they are not under detention," the spokesperson said,"adding that they were questioned over their involvement with an Afghan relief agency founded by Mahmood. It is just an investigation to look into the credentials of various non-governmental organisations who may have been working inside Afghanistan," the spokesman added.
In hoping of quick release from the intelligence agencies and went back to research at PAEC
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
, he confessed quickly. According to the FIA and ISI
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
's joint-Intelligence report, which was given to the Parliament's Committee on National Security and Defence Affairs, stated that dr. Majeed confessed quickly in which he said that Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
did asked them to built either a radiological
Radiological weapon
A radiological weapon or radiological dispersion device is any weapon that is designed to spread radioactive material with the intent to kill, and cause disruption upon a city or nation....
or a biological weapon
Biological warfare
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...
. Majeed also confirmed Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
saying that he could smuggled the natural uranium
Natural uranium
Natural uranium refers to refined uranium with the same isotopic ratio as found in nature. It contains 0.7 % uranium-235, 99.3 % uranium-238, and a trace of uranium-234 by weight. In terms of the amount of radioactivity, approximately 2.2 % comes from uranium-235, 48.6 % uranium-238, and 49.2 %...
from Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
. Majeed, however, clearly refused to Laden and said: it's not easy and they cannot built a nuclear bomb for him alone. He also said to Laden that: "I'm not the nuclear weapon designer and it's not easy the way it looks. The Pakistani authorities, especially the Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
, are too sensitive and I may get arrested for nuclear trafficking which may result in ending my life".
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
CIA intelligence official said that the first interrogation of the two Pakistani scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
s has resulted in an assessment that Mr. Mahmood and Dr. Majeed did not know enough to help build a nuclear weapon. "These two guys were nuclear scientists who didn't know how to build one themselves," the American official said. "If you had to have guys go bad, these are the guys you'd want they didn't know much."
His family filed a petition to Supreme Court of Pakistan
Supreme Court of Pakistan
The Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
in 2001 but the Supreme Court announced a decision in favor of Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
. A team of nuclear scientists, along with Pakistani Parliamentarians
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, under the leadership of Parliamentarian
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Farhatullah Babar
Farhatullah Babar
Farhatullah Babar is a Pakistani politician and Parliamentarian from Pakistan People's Party to the Parliament. He is a senior member of the Pakistan Peoples Party and served in the Pakistani Senate from 2003 to 2006. He was an outspoken critic of the former Pakistani administration headed by...
, met with the Military and Civilian officials of Pakistani Government and requested to put dr. Majeed into house arrest. Instead of that, Mahmood was released in late December 2001 and was put in house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
. However, Majeed was not released and was interrogated harshly. According to his family, he was not allowed to meet any of his family member, including his children and wife.
He was forcefully asked to surrender his high civilian award, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz which was conferred to him in 1998 by then-Prime Minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
, Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
. During a harsh interrogation of 5 years, he suffered a severe heart attack. That time, dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
Scandal's pressure was already getting intensified to the Government. To avoid an intense public pressure, he was taken immediately but secretly to the military hospital
Military hospital
Military hospital is a hospital, which is generally located on a military base and is reserved for the use of military personnel, their dependents or other authorized users....
through a helicopter where the military doctors tried to save his life for hours. Later in the midnight, it was announced that he had died.
Aftermath and legacy
After this incident, Pakistani authorities were given order not to interrogated suspected scientists too harshly, especially dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. Pakistani Authorities also place accused scientists, specially those who were associated with Khan Labs, into house arrest with partial freedom. By the end of 2008, the charges on the Pakistani nuclear scientists were dropped by the Presidential pardon.Ch. Abdul Majeed was a known atomic physicist and he was a close associate friend of former PAEC Chairman Munir Ahmad Khan (late). According to the Pakistan Nuclear Society Press release, it said that he was mistakenly arrested and he was not involved in development of nuclear weapons. After his death, he was re-awarded his "Tamgha-e-Imtiaz" award. He was also awarded a high-civilian award "Hilal-e-Imtiaz" with a State honour from Government of Pakistan. Government of Pakistan also issued an apology letter to his family, saying that "the State will never forget his work". He was seen with respect in Pakistan. He also worked in the PAEC as an engineer.
The NGO scandal heavily disturbed his imaged and his private life also. Even though, he heavily cooperated with intelligence agencies in hoping of freedom and went back to PAEC; he was declined to give any partial freedom. He was harshly interrogated for a long time which also resulted in his death. According to the dr. Bashir Syed, former President of the Association of Pakistani Scientists and Engineers of North America (APSENA), said:
"I know both of these persons and can tell you there is not an iota of truth that both these respected scientists and friends will do anything to harm the interest of their own country."
Parliamentarian Farhatullah Babar
Farhatullah Babar
Farhatullah Babar is a Pakistani politician and Parliamentarian from Pakistan People's Party to the Parliament. He is a senior member of the Pakistan Peoples Party and served in the Pakistani Senate from 2003 to 2006. He was an outspoken critic of the former Pakistani administration headed by...
, a family friend of dr. Majeed and currently spokesperson of the Prime Minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
, met the families of nuclear scientists recently, said:
“Dr. Majeed and Eng. Mahmood
Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood
Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, otherwise written as, Sultan Bashir-ud-Din Mehmood), and Manchester, United Kingdom. A controversial figure, Bashiruddin Mahmood is widely popular in Pakistan's scientific and religious circles for his scientific interpretation and its relation to Quran...
has been wronged by the government and a signal has been sent to the Pakistani scientist that they would have to defend themselves in any eventuality which becomes too hot to handle for the government.”
External links
- http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/12/6/162922.shtml
- http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1823/18230180.htm
- http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v414/n6859/full/414003b0.html
- http://www.trvnews.com/tsl/112901/index.html
- http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2001-10/25/article3.shtml
- http://news.indiamart.com/news-analysis/osama-s-threat-to-us-4785.html
- http://www.dawn.com/2002/01/31/top4.htm