Muhammad Hafeez Qureshi (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: محمد حفيظ قريشى; October 31 October 1930 – 11 August 2007), , known as Hafeez Qureshi, was a Pakistani

nuclear scientist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

and a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

, known for his role as a diagnostics engineer for his nation's nuclear capability. His career was spent working at the

Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology The Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology (PINSTECH) is a federally funded research and development laboratory in Nilore, Islamabad, Pakistan.subcritical experiments on the

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...

s where he gained expertise on engineering applications of

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

Biography

Early life and education

Muhammad Hafeez Qureshi was born in

Kapurthala Kapurthala () is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the capital of the Kapurthala State, a princely state in British India. The aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent b ...

, which is now part of the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, to a Punjabi-speaking Indian Muslim family on 31 October 1930. His family

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

sometime after the partition of British-ruled India in 1947; only to settle in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

. Upon matriculating from a local high school, Qureshi enrolled at

Karachi University The University of Karachi (; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (which is ...

in 1956— he partly supported his studies by working as a

motor mechanic An auto mechanic is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or more automobile brands or sometimes working with any brand. In fixing cars, their main role is to diagnose and repair the problem accuratelS ...

. In his dormitory at the university, his schoolmate and friend was a future notable

optical physicist Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

Dr. Muhammad Jameel— who was also present when Pakistan tested its nuclear devices in Ras Koh Range. He attained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(BSc) in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and earned a scholarship to resume his studies at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

(MSU) in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. At MSU, Qureshi enrolled in the engineering department and gained a

(BS) in mechanical engineering, followed by a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

(MS), also in mechanical engineering His mechanical engineering thesis contained work on applications of the mechanics of materials. In 1960, he was admitted into the

doctoral program A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''Licentiate (degree), licentia docendi' ...

in mechanical engineering at MSU, but left his

doctoral studies A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

for unknown reasons. After returning to Pakistan in 1960, Qureshi joined Karachi Mechanical Laboratories (KML) and found employment with the

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

(PAEC) in 1963, where he joined the staff led by Dr. Naeem Ahmad Khan in Lahore.

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission

In 1963, Qureshi served as design engineer at the Atomic Energy Center in Lahore where he oversaw the installation of the first

neutron generator Neutron generators are neutron source devices which contain compact linear particle accelerators and that produce neutrons by fusing isotopes of hydrogen together. The nuclear fusion, fusion reactions take place in these devices by acceleratin ...

. In 1965, Qureshi moved to Nilore to join Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH) where he was part of the team that designed his nation's first nation's nuclear pile — PARR-I reactor at Pinstech Laboratory in Nilore which went

critical Critical or Critically may refer to: *Critical, or critical but stable, medical states **Critical, or intensive care medicine * Critical juncture, a discontinuous change studied in the social sciences. *Critical Software, a company specializing i ...

in 1965. In 1967, Qureshi moved to the Nuclear Physics Group working under Naeem Ahmad Khan that was investigating on the feasibility of the

gas centrifuge A gas centrifuge is a device that performs isotope separation of gases. A centrifuge relies on the principles of centrifugal force accelerating molecules so that particles of different masses are physically separated in a gradient along the radiu ...

s for the industrial enrichment. This study group also included Sultan Mahmood and

Samar Mubarakmand Samar Mubarakmand (Urdu: ; born 17 September 1942; ) is a Pakistani nuclear physicist known for his research in gamma spectroscopy and the experimental development of the Charged Particle Accelerator at the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Scien ...

but left the project when he joined the Radiation Isotope Application Division (RIAD) at the laboratory under Naeem Ahmad Khan. In December 1971, Qureshi was made director of RIAD with support provided from Dr. Naeem Ahmad.

1971 war and atomic bomb project

In 1974, Qureshi was invited by

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

and

Abdus Salam Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist. He shared the 1 ...

to participate in the development of nuclear weapons when he was asked to design, engineer, and machine the design components, tampers, and

explosive lens An explosive lens—as used, for example, in nuclear weapons—is a highly specialized shaped charge. In general, it is a device composed of several explosive charges. These charges are arranged and formed with the intent to control the sha ...

es necessary for detonation of the

. He soon joined the Metallurgical Laboratory (ML) located in

Wah Cantonment The Wah Cantonment (; ) (often abbreviated to Wah Cantt) is a military base in Wah, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is a part of the Taxila Tehsil of the Rawalpindi District, Pakistan. It is the 24th most populous city in Pakistan by ...

and collaborated with Dr. Zaman Sheikh, a physical chemist and authority on

explosives 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 ...

, of Defence Science & Technology Organization (DESTO). This led to the establishment of the Wah Group Scientist (WGS) at the ML that worked on metallurgical aspect of the nuclear device. Several sessions were held on the feasibility of the device between the Wah Group Scientist with the Abdus Salam and Riazuddin of Theoretical Physics Group (TPG);

Asghar Qadir Asghar Qadir ( born 23 July 1946) ''HI'', ''SI'', ''FPAS'', is a Pakistani mathematician and a prominent cosmologist, specialised in mathematical physics and physical cosmology. Nowadays, he is widely considered one of the top mathematician ...

and

Munir Ahmad Rashid Muneer Ahmad Rashid, FPAS (born 1934), also spelled as Munir Ahmad Rashid, is a Pakistani mathematical physicist and emeritus professor of applied and mathematical physics at the Centre for Advanced Mathematics and Physics of the National Un ...

of the Mathematical Physics Group;

Ishfaq Ahmad Ishfaq Ahmad (3 November 1930 – 18 January 2018) , was a Pakistani nuclear physicist, emeritus professor of high-energy physics at the National Centre for Physics, and former science advisor to the Government of Pakistan. A versatile theor ...

of Nuclear Physics Division. During the meeting, the word ''bomb'' was never used, instead the scientists used scientific research rationale. There, the scientists decided to develop an 'implosion' over the 'gun' type fission device citing economy in the use of

fissile material In nuclear engineering, fissile material is material that can undergo nuclear fission when struck by a neutron of low energy. A self-sustaining thermal chain reaction can only be achieved with fissile material. The predominant neutron energy i ...

. The Wah Group Scientists also took initiatives in designing of high precision mechanical and chemical components – how tampers would be developed to produce efficiency and high precision data – physics calculations – what would its appropriate time reaction be when the explosives make contact with the material– high explosives– what kind of chemistry be would be used, and triggering mechanisms – how the weapon would be detonated. Since the testing facilities in PINSTECH Nilore lacked, the ML performed several explosives experiments and chemistry measurements in cooperation with the

Pakistan Ordnance Factories The Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) is a major firearms and a defence contractor headquartered in Wah Cantt, Punjab, Pakistan. Described as "the largest defence industrial complex under the Ministry of Defence Production, producing convent ...

(POF), which was the source of providing the explosives, in 1976. By 1979, the Wah Group Scientists under Hafeez and Sheikh had developed the wide range of explosive lenses, design components finished on the

computer numerical control Computer numerical control (CNC) or CNC machining is the Automation, automated control of machine tools by a computer. It is an evolution of numerical control (NC), where machine tools are directly managed by data storage media such as punched ...

, the polymer-based high explosive materials, and triggering mechanisms.

Subcritical testing and diagnostics

In 1980, the Wah Group Scientist team collaborated with the Diagnostics Directorate in designing the diagnostics to viability and reliability of the first nuclear device without the use of nuclear testing. The

subcritical In the operation of a nuclear reactor, criticality or critical state is the state in which a nuclear chain reaction is self-sustaining but not growing. Subcriticality or subcritical state is the state in which a nuclear chain reaction is not self ...

experiments on the physical package was organized in the secret

Kirana Hills Site The Kirana Hills Site is an extensive rocky mountain range and a reservation of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and nuclear arsenal storage location of Pakistan army, located in the Sargodha District in Punjab, Pakistan. Known locally as "Black Mo ...

, controlled by the

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

, under the test series: Kirana-I. The first subcritical experiment on the first nuclear device took place on 11 March 1983. The diagnostics and the subcritical experiments continued on 24 different improved designs, developed by TPG, under

of the Diagnostics Directorate and Hafeez Qureshi of Wah Group Scientist. Hafeez Qureshi, alongside Samar Mubarakmand, oversaw the diagnostics and subcritical testing program of nuclear weapons as its test director until the full-scale nuclear testing (

Chagai-I Chagai-I is the code name of five simultaneous underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan at 15:15 hrs Pakistan Standard Time, PKT on 28 May 1998. The tests were performed at Ras Koh Hills in the Chagai District of Balochistan Province. C ...

) was conducted at the Ras Koh Range in 1998.

Death and honors

On 11 August 2007, Qureshi died from natural causes, aged 76. After his retirement, he served on the mechanical engineering faculty at the

Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences The Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), () is a public research university located in Islamabad, Pakistan. The university is modelled on international standards with a strong focus on the scientific advancement of the n ...

, and was honored with his nation's highest honors including the

Sitara-e-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...

in 1992 and

Hilal-e-Imtiaz The ''Hilal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled as ''Hilal-i-Imtiaz,'' is the second-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") Awards and decorations of the Pakistan military, civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military Officer (armed fo ...

in 2002 conferred by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

. In 2023, the Government of Pakistan accepted the recommendation to honor his services with the

Nishan-i-Imtiaz The Nishan-e-Imtiaz (; ) is one of the state organized Civil decorations of Pakistan, civil decorations of Pakistan. It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the awa ...

, which he was awarded in 2024.

Bibliography

References

External links

Pakistanpedia

An Unsung Hero Passes away
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qureshi, Muhammad Hafeez 1938 births 2007 deaths People from Kapurthala Indian emigrants to Pakistan Scientists from Karachi University of Karachi alumni Pakistani physicists Michigan State University alumni 20th-century Pakistani engineers 21st-century Pakistani engineers 20th-century Pakistani scientists 21st-century Pakistani scientists Fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Pakistani mechanical engineers Pakistani nuclear physicists Nuclear weapons scientists and engineers Weapons scientists and engineers Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz Project-706 Academic staff of Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences