Mubashir Hassan ( ur, ; 22 January 1922 – 14 March 2020), was a Pakistani politician,

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

, political adviser, and an engineer who served in the capacity of

Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

in Bhutto administration from 1971 until 1974. In 1967, Hassan co-founded the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded i ...

, a

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

political party, along with

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourt ...

and J.A. Rahim. After appointed

in Bhutto administration in 1971, his role was critical in aggressively pursuing the

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

for establishing the

planned economy A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, ...

while he managed the funding of the atomic bomb program when he helped established the

Ministry of Science A Science Ministry or Department of Science is a ministry or other government agency charged with science. The ministry is often headed by a Minister for Science. List of Ministries of Science Many countries have a Ministry of Science or Ministry ...

to promote and increase the scientific output of the country. After leaving the Bhutto administration in 1974, he was appointed as the General-Secretary of the

, and continue his role as political adviser to Prime Minister Bhutto but become troubled when Bhutto was removed from the office, facing charges of inciting violence by the

Zia administration The Parliament of Pakistan ( ur, , , "Pakistan Advisory Council" or "Pakistan Consultative Assembly") is the federal and supreme legislative body of Pakistan. It is a bicameral federal legislature that consists of the Senate as the upper h ...

. After retiring from politics in 1980s, Hassan joined the

UET Lahore The University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore (UET Lahore) is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan specializing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. It is the oldest and one of the most ...

and accepted the position in teaching civil engineering, and was a vital member of the Human Rights Commission of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Biography

Mubashir Hassan was born on 21 January 1922 in

Panipat Panipat () is a historic city in Haryana, India. It is 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-1. The three major battles fought in 1526, 1556 and 1761 took place near the city. The city is famous in India as the ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

into a family that practised medicines as their profession. His mother side of family members descendant to A.H. Hali, an

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' He was raised by his mother while his father worked for the government of

Hyderabad Deccan Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, an ...

. After his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

in 1938, Hassan was sent to attend the Government College University in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

where his elder brother was studying medicine at the

King Edward Medical University King Edward Medical University (KEMU) () is a public medical university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1860, the university is named after King Edward VII. Established by the British Raj, named as Lahore Medical School. In ...

but made a

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

to University of Engineering and Technology (UET). In 1942, Hassan graduated with BSc in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

at age 20, briefly employed as Subdivional Officer (SDO) at the Irrigation department in

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha ...

. In 1944, Hassan secured a scholarship to study engineering in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, traveled to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to attend the

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and graduated with MSc in civil engineering in 1947. Hassan returns to India immediately after the partition took place, and joined the engineering faculty of the UET Lahore. In 1953, he again went to

to attend the doctoral program in engineering at the

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of th ...

, and conferred with

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

in civil engineering in 1955. Upon returning to Pakistan, he joined the UET Lahore, eventually becoming the Chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering in subsequent years. political philosophy began to take place in 1967, after witnessing the 1965 war with India. In 1967, Hassan published the political manifesto, "A Declaration of Unity of People", advocating for Techno-

Democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

in East-Pakistan, during which he was lecturing in the topic of

Engineering physics Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical en ...

at the

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

Political activism

After gaining appreciation and popularity,

called Hassan to West-Pakistan where at his house, the

was founded along with J.A. Rahim in November 1967. His wide knowledge in ranging from science and politics, Hassan became one of the closest confidants and advisers of Bhutto, and acted on behalf of Bhutto in 1970 to form a coalition government with

Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengali polit ...

of Peoples League. After the 1971 Winter war, Hassan was appointed

and helped Bhutto establish the

in 1

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recent ...

Atomic bomb project

His political role in atomic bomb project started in 1972, when Bhutto asked him to meet with

Munir Ahmad Khan Munir Ahmad Khan ( ur, ; 20 May 1926 – 22 April 1999), , was a Pakistani nuclear reactor physicist who is credited, among others, with being the "father of the atomic bomb program" of Pakistan for their leading role in developing their nati ...

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) (Urdu: ) is a federally funded independent governmental agency, concerned with research and development of nuclear power, promotion of nuclear science, energy conservation and the peaceful usage of nuclea ...

. Bhutto responded by abolishing several committees dealing with atomic energy in various ministries, and ordered

Hassan to manage the finance of the atomic bomb project.Meanwhile, Hassan reportedly worked closely with

on technical and economical aspects of the atomic bomb project. He remained supportive and administrative figure in

's non-nuclear proliferation, and monitored

Abdul Qadeer Khan Abdul Qadeer Khan, (; ur, ; 1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021), known as A. Q. Khan, was a Pakistani nuclear physicist and metallurgical engineer. He was a key figure in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program and is colloquially known as the ...

's suspicious activities throughout 1976. However, he was soon pulled out after being warned by Bhutto, therefore, Hassan focused his attention on PAEC's efforts. In 1974, he developed serious issues with Bhutto after Bhutto deposed

Malik Meraj Khalid Malik Meraj Khalid ( ur, ; 1 February 1916 – 13 June 2003), was a Pakistani advocate, left wing politician and Marxist philosopher who served as Caretaker prime minister of Pakistan from November 1996 until February 1997. He was noted as be ...

, a Marxist and

Law Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...

when Bhutto decided to expand the activities of the

establishment Establishment may refer to: * The Establishment, a dominant group or elite that controls a polity or an organization * The Establishment (club), a 1960s club in London, England * The Establishment (Pakistan), political terminology for the military ...

in the government to keep an eye on Bhutto rivals. In 1974, Hassan resigned from

Finance Ministry A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

after learning of this incident, but remained loyal to Bhutto. In 1974, Bhutto finally appointed Hassan as his Science Advisor to the Prime minister Secretariat. As Director of Directorate for Science, Hassan played a significant role in the establishment of

Kahuta Project Project-706, also known as Project-786 was the codename of a research and development program to develop Pakistan's first nuclear weapons. The program was initiated by Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1974 in response to the Indian nuclear ...

, advising Bhutto on various aspects of atomic bomb project. He objected to the idea of giving the Kahuta Project's responsibilities to Corps of Engineers, but was overruled by Bhutto. However, the progress on atomic bomb project was slowed down after an intensified civil disorder began to take place, shrinking the credibility of Bhutto. Throughout 1976, Hassan made several unsuccessful attempts to bring the leadership of

Pakistan National Alliance The Pakistan National Alliance ( Urdu: پاکستان قومی اتحاد, Acronym: PNA), was a populist and consolidated right-wing political alliance, consisting of nine political parties of the country. Formed in 1977, the country's leadi ...

on table and he was finally arrested by

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

in 1977. Hassan was placed in

Adiala Jail Central Jail Rawalpindi (also known as Adiala Jail) is a prominent prison in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. History The Central Jail Rawalpindi was built from the late 1970s and early 1980s during the military regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, aft ...

with Bhutto where he spent his next seven years in prison even after Bhutto's execution.

Post war activities

Released in 1984, Hassan joined the

Faculty Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division) A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject ...

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

of civil engineering. In 1988, Prime minister

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

made an attempt to appoint him as

but he refused to serve after Benazir had planned

deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...

of industries. Although, Hassan had retired from any political activism, Hassan continued to write articles in hydraulics engineering and its extended mathematical problems. Hassan also wrote about the economic issues and remained a loyal supporter of

and his policies. His articles were regularly published in ''

The News International ''The News International'', published in broadsheet size, is one of the largest English language newspapers in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London that cater ...

'' newspaper, though he was associated with the Pakistan Peoples Party (Murtaza Bhutto) since its inception.Dr Mubashir Hassan dies at 98
The News International (newspaper), Published 15 March 2020, Retrieved 21 May 2020 In 2011, Hassan visited his native city in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, where Hassan advocated normalisation of Indo-Pakistan relations, and maintained that:

Publications

Books and bibliography

* 2001, ''Birds of the Indus'', Mubashir Hasan, Tom J. Roberts * 2000, ''The Mirage of Power'', Dr. Mubashir Hassan, PhD, (2000) () * 1989, ''An Enquiry into the Bhutto Years'', Dr. Mubashir Hassan * 1986, ''National unity: what is to be done?'', Mubashir Hasan, I. A. Rahman, A. H. Kardar * 1977, ''United front for people's democracy'' * 1976, ''Pakistan's illiterate leaders'' * 1967, ''A Declaration of Unity of People'' * 1954, ''On the general education of an engineer''

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Mubashir 1922 births 2020 deaths People from Panipat University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore alumni Indian civil engineers Indian emigrants to Pakistan Pakistani expatriates in the United States Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Iowa State University alumni Engineers from Iowa Pakistani civil engineers University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore faculty Pakistani people of Haryanvi descent Pakistani socialists Pakistani political party founders Technocracy movement Pakistan People's Party politicians Government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Finance Ministers of Pakistan Pakistani political consultants Project-706 people Pakistani dissidents Pakistani expatriates in the United Kingdom Pakistani anti-war activists Pakistani photographers Pakistani human rights activists Pakistani humanists