Mubashir Hassan (; 22 January 1922 – 14 March 2020) 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 ...

politician,

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

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

Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

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

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

, a

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and 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-mana ...

political party, along with

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

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 contrasts with p ...

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy 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 private sector employs most of the workfo ...

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 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. After retiring from politics in 1980s, Hassan joined the UET Lahore and accepted the position in teaching civil engineering, and was a vital member of the

Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

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# ...

Biography

Mubashir Hassan was born on 21 January 1922 in

Panipat Panipat () is an industrial , located 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-44 in Panipat district, Haryana, India. It is famous for three major battles fought in 1526, 1556 and 1761. The city is also known as ...

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 ...

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

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 ...

language poet. He was raised by his mother while his father worked for the government of Hyderabad Deccan. 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 no ...

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

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

where his elder brother was studying medicine at the King Edward Medical University but made a transfer to University of Engineering and Technology (UET). In 1942, Hassan graduated with BSc in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

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

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

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

, traveled to New York to attend the

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, 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 university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

, and conferred with

PhD 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 ...

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 economic ideology, economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and wor ...

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

Engineering physics Engineering physics (EP), sometimes engineering science, is the field of study combining pure science disciplines (such as physics, mathematics, chemistry or biology) and engineering disciplines (computer, nuclear, electrical, aerospace, medic ...

at the Dhaka University.

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

and helped Bhutto establish the Ministry of Science in 1 972.

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 (; 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 ...

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 ...

. Bhutto responded by abolishing several committees dealing with atomic energy in various

ministries Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

, 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 (1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021) was a Pakistani Nuclear physics, nuclear physicist and metallurgist, metallurgical engineer. He is colloquially known as the "father of Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction, Pakistan's ...

'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, a Marxist and Law Minister when Bhutto decided to expand the activities of the establishment in the government to keep an eye on Bhutto rivals. In 1974, Hassan resigned from Finance Ministry 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, 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 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. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

in 1977. Hassan was placed in Adiala Jail 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 UET Lahore's Faculty of

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of civil engineering. In 1988, Prime minister

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

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 th ...

'' 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, 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 ...

, 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'' * Shahrah e Inqilab

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Mubashir 1922 births 2020 deaths Muhajir people 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 Academic staff of the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore Pakistani people of Haryanvi descent Pakistani socialists Pakistani political party founders Technocracy movement Pakistan People's Party politicians Government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Ministers of finance 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