Shadow of the Past: Pakistan army spokesman's father a sanctioned nuclear scientist with al-Qaeda ties

Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the spokesperson for the Pakistan Army amid the ongoing military conflict with India, is the son of a nuclear scientist sanctioned by the United Nations and the US for his links with the al-Qaeda, whom it provided crucial information and technical expertise, officials said here. Lt Gen Chaudhry, a three-star general, has been actively briefing the press in his capacity as the chief of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) since India conducted intelligence-based strikes at nine terror camps, including the headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, to avenge the fatal attack on 26 people, mainly tourists, in Pahalgam on April 22.

As per the United Nations documents, Chaudhry's father, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, born in Amritsar, was known to have met the late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

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Mahmood is alleged to have provided insights into the infrastructure necessary for a nuclear weapons programme as well as the effects associated with nuclear weapons.

In addition, he was accused of raising funds for a fundamentalist organisation, Ummah Tameer-e-Nau, founded in 1999 to support humanitarian causes in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan before the US invasion in 2001.

Mahmood, who retired from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, has authored several books discussing the intersection of religion and science, including "Mechanics of the Doomsday and Life after Death", in which he reflects on the ultimate fate of the universe from an Islamic perspective.

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Currently 85 years old, Mahmood lives in Islamabad.

Lt Gen Chaudhry was appointed as the Director General of the ISPR by Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir in December 2022.

Notably, he was the first officer from the Pakistan Army's Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering to achieve this position.

He previously held significant roles, including serving as the director general of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DESTO), a clandestine military research entity, besides working in military operations.

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The Ummah Tameer-e-Nau, which was banned and sanctioned by the US in 2001, had ties to several notable figures in Pakistan, including the controversial former director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt Gen Hamid Gul.

Mahmood was arrested in 2001 after he reportedly admitted to meeting Osama bin Laden, but was later released when authorities concluded that he lacked the technical knowledge to transfer nuclear secrets.

His name also figures in the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) and Blocked Persons list of the US Treasury Department.