Editing Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood (section)

==Life and education==

Mahmood was born in [[Amritsar]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Indian Empire|British India]] to a [[Punjabi Muslims|Punjabi Muslim family]].<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> There are conflicting reports concerning his [[date of birth]]; his personal admission noted the birth year as 1940,<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> while the [[United Nations|UN]] reports estimated it as 1938.<ref name="Security Council Committee Concerning Afghanistan">{{cite web|last1=UN Work, AFG/176-SC/7252|title=Security Council Committee Concerning Afghanistan|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2001/afg176.doc.htm|publisher=Security Council Committee Concerning Afghanistan|access-date=22 January 2015|date=26 December 2001}}</ref> His father, [[Chaudhry]] Muhammad Sharif Khan, was a local ''[[zamindar]]'' (lit. [[Feudal Lordship|feudal lord]]).<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> His family emigrated from [[India]] to [[Pakistan]] following [[religious violence in India|religious violence]] during the [[partition of India]] in 1947; the family settled in [[Lahore]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]].<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> His son [[Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry]] serves as the 22nd [[Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations]] of the [[Pakistan Armed Forces]].<ref name="print/6dec22">{{cite news |last1=Swami |first1=Praveen |date=6 December 2022 |title=Pakistan's new ISPR chief is son of Osama-linked scientist who said djinns can make electricity |url=https://theprint.in/world/pakistans-new-ispr-chief-is-son-of-osama-linked-scientist-who-said-djinns-can-make-electricity/1249730/ |access-date=2 May 2024 |work=ThePrint}}</ref>

After graduating with distinctions from a local [[High school (upper secondary)|high school]] standing at top of his class, Mahmood was awarded a scholarship and enrolled at the [[Government College University, Lahore|Government College University]] to study [[electrical engineering]].<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> After spending a semester, he transferred to the [[University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore]], and graduated with a Bachelor of Science with [[BSc (Hons)|honours]] in 1960.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> His credentials led him to join the [[Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission]] (PAEC) where he gained another scholarship to study in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="Waqt News of the Nawa-i-Waqt Media Group ">{{Cite web
 |last       = Shakir
 |first      = Sabir
 |title      = History of Pakistan's nuclear development
 |website       = [[Waqt News|Waqt Television News Corporation]]
 |publisher  = Waqt News of the Nawa-i-Waqt Media Group
 |date       = 23 July 2009
 |url        = http://www.pakistantalk.com/forums/nuclear-missiles/3102-sultan-bashiruddin-mahmood-interview-pakistans-nuclear-program.html
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120314062733/http://www.pakistantalk.com/forums/nuclear-missiles/3102-sultan-bashiruddin-mahmood-interview-pakistans-nuclear-program.html
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-date = 14 March 2012
 |access-date = 23 July 2011
}}</ref>

In 1962, Mahmood went to attend the [[University of Manchester]] where he studied for a [[Double major|double]] master's degree.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> First completing a masters' programme in [[Control systems engineering|control systems]] in 1965, he then received another master's degree in [[nuclear engineering]] in 1969 from the University of Manchester.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> While in Manchester, Mahmood was an expert on the [[Manhattan Project]] and was reportedly in contact with [[South Africa]]n scientists in discussing the [[jet nozzle|jet-nozzle]] method for [[uranium enrichment]].<ref name="Chaudhry 2006">{{Cite web
  | last = Chaudhry
  | first =M.A.
  | title =Pakistan's Nuclear History: Separating Myth from Reality
  | website = Owl's Tree
  | publisher =DefenceJournal.com
  | date = 9 June 2006
  | url =http://owlstree.blogspot.com/2006/06/pakistani-nuclear-program-2-5.html
  | access-date =1 March 2006 }}</ref> However, it remains unclear how much interaction was taken place during that time.<ref name="Chaudhry 2006"/>