Abdul Hafeez was a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

weapons scientist and

radiochemist Radiochemistry is the chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive isotopes (often within radiochemistry the absence of radioactivity leads t ...

. Hafeez was one of the early pioneer of Pakistan Ordnance Factories at Wah Cantt who made an extraordinary efforts to build and develop medium and high-tech weapons for Pakistan Armed Forces. Hafeez was also a

Pan-Islamist Pan-Islamism () is a political movement which advocates the unity of Muslims under one Islamic country or state – often a caliphate – or an international organization with Islamic principles. Historically, after Ottomanism, which aimed at t ...

and political analyst who had long criticised

British imperialism The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts establish ...

and influence in Muslim world.

Education and life

Abdul Hafeez received his intermediate education from

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, attending

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

where he studied double majors, receiving BSc with honours in Chemistry and Mathematics from there. He later completed his MSc in

Theoretical Chemistry Theoretical chemistry is the branch of chemistry which develops theoretical generalizations that are part of the theoretical arsenal of modern chemistry: for example, the concepts of chemical bonding, chemical reaction, valence, the surface ...

from there. In 1905, he went to Great Britain on a University Scholarship and attended

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. While at University of Birmingham, he studied and research in the field of

Explosive material An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

s and Radiochemisrty. However, he irritated the Birmingham University officials when he published his PhD thesis in the name of Afghanistan's

Habibullāh Kalakāni Habibullah Kalakani (, 19 January 1891 – 1 November 1929), derogatively called "Bacha-ye Saqao" (also romanized Bachai Sakao; literally ''son of the water carrier''), was the ruler of Afghanistan from 17 January to 13 October 1929, as well a ...

. The university refused to give him the Doctoral Degree. Soon after, Hafeez left Great Britain and moved to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

where he, then, attended

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

where he was awarded his PhD in

Radiochemistry Radiochemistry is the chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive isotopes (often within radiochemistry the absence of radioactivity leads t ...

and Explosive Chemistry in 1908. He also specialised in weapon technology and explosive materials from there.

Death

In 1960, Hafeez moved to Austria where he re-joined Steyr Mannlicher. During the time, his Austrian–Pakistani wife was suffering from

acute myeloid leukaemia Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal cells that build up in the bone marrow and blood and interfere with normal blood cell production. Symptoms may inclu ...

. His wife, Aynmar Rishta Mehrun Nisa, died in 1964. The same year, he suffered a cardial arrest and was immediately taken to hospital where it was announced that he had died. Hafeez and his wife's bodies were taken to Pakistan where they were buried in a Karachi cemetery.

References

External links

Abdul Hafeez
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hafeez, Abdul Aligarh Muslim University alumni Muhajir people Pakistani chemists Pakistan Army civilians People from Aligarh 1882 births 1964 deaths Pakistan Movement Alumni of the University of Birmingham Indian emigrants to Pakistan