Editing Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood (section)

== Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission ==
[[File:DUF6 cylinder leak.gif|thumb|right|250px|{{small|In 1970s, Mehmood gained praise for inventing and patenting a scientific instrument, naming '''SBM probe''', to detect [[uranium hexafluoride]] (UF6) leak in nuclear steam cylinder as shown in the image.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/>}}]]
Mahmood joined the [[Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission]] (PAEC) in 1968, joining the Nuclear Physics Division at the [[Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology]] (PINSTECH) working under Dr. [[Naeem Ahmad Khan]]. His collaboration took place with [[Samar Mubarakmand]], [[Muhammad Hafeez Qureshi|Hafeez Qureshi]], and he was a vital member of the group before it was discontinued in 1970.<ref>{{harvtxt|Khan|2012|pp=140–145}}</ref> Mahmood was one of the foremost experts on civilian [[nuclear reactor technology|reactor technology]] and was a senior engineer at the [[Karachi Nuclear Power Plant]] (KANUPP I)— the first commercial nuclear power plant in Pakistan.<ref>{{harvtxt|Faddis|2010|pp=170–173}}</ref> He gained notability and publicity in the [[Pakistan Physics Society]] for inventing a scientific instrument, the 'SBM probe', to detect leaks in steam pipes, a problem that was affecting nuclear plants all over the world and is still used worldwide.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/>

After witnessing the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]], which saw the [[Instrument of Surrender (1971)|unconditional surrender]] of Pakistan in 1971, Mahmood attended the winter seminar at [[Multan]] and delivered a speech on atomic science.<ref>{{harvtxt|Rehman|1999|p=38}}</ref> On 20 January 1972, the [[President of Pakistan]], [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]], approved a [[Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction|crash atomic weapon programme]], under [[Munir Ahmad Khan]], for the sake of "national survival."<ref>{{harvtxt|Rehman|1999|pp=39–40}}</ref> Nevertheless, Mahmood continued his work at the KANUPP I engineering division.<ref>{{harvtxt|Rehman|1999|pp=50–51}}</ref>

In the aftermath of '[[Smiling Buddha]]', a surprise nuclear test conducted by [[India]] in May 1974, Munir Ahmad appointed Mahmood as the director of the [[Project-706|enrichment division]] at PAEC, where the majority of calculations were conducted by Dr. [[Khalil Qureshi]]– a [[physical chemist]].<ref>{{harvtxt|Khan|2012|pp=146–147}}</ref> Mahmood analysed the [[gaseous diffusion]], [[gas centrifuge]], [[Enriched uranium#Other techniques|jet-nozzle]] and [[molecular laser isotope separation]] method for [[uranium-enrichment]]; recommending the gas centrifuge method as economical.<ref>{{harvtxt|Khan|2012|p=148}}</ref> After submitting the report, Mahmood was asked to depart to the [[Netherlands]] to interview Dr. [[Abdul Qadeer Khan]] on behalf of President Bhutto in 1974.<ref>{{harvtxt|Rehman|1999|p=59-50}}</ref> In 1975, his proposal was approved and the work on uranium enrichment started with Mahmood as its director, a move that irked the more qualified but more difficult to manage Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, who had coveted the job for himself.<ref name="Maulana Kausar Niazi and Sani Panwjap ">{{harvtxt|Nyäzie|1994 |pp=55–56}}</ref> His relations with Dr. Khan remained extremely tense and the pairs disagreed with each other and developed great differences.<ref name="Maulana Kausar Niazi and Sani Panwjap "/> In private meetings with Munir Ahmad, Mahmood often complained and pictured him as "egomaniac".<ref name="Stanford University Press">{{harvtxt|Khan|2012|p=151}}</ref> In 1976, Mahmood was removed from the enrichment division, [[Project-706]], by Abdul Qadeer Khan, and Khan moved the enrichment division at the [[Engineering Research Laboratories]] (ERL) under [[Pakistani military|military control]].<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>

Eventually, Munir Ahmad removed Mahmood from other classified works and posted him back to the [[Karachi Nuclear Power Plant]] (KANUPP-I) with no reason given as a principal engineer.<ref name="Stanford University Press"/><ref name="Free Press">{{harvtxt|Bergen|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kYdLqOUj8lUC&pg=PA215 215]}}</ref> In the 1980s, Munir Ahmad secured Mahmood a job as project manager for the construction of the [[Khushab Reactor]] (Khushab-I) where he served as chief engineer and aided with designing the [[nuclear reactor coolant|coolant]] systems.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/> In 1998, he was promoted as a director of the nuclear power division and held that position until 1999.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/>

After the reactor went critical in April 1998, Mahmood said in an interview: "''This reactor (can produce enough plutonium for two to three nuclear weapons per year) Pakistan had "acquired the capability to produce.... boosted [[thermonuclear weapon]]s and [[hydrogen bomb]]s''."<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/><ref name="Stanford University Press"/> In 1998, Mahmood was honoured with the [[Sitara-e-Imtiaz]] award in a ceremony by Prime Minister [[Nawaz Sharif]].<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/>

In 1998, he was promoted as a director of the nuclear power division and held that position until 1999.<ref name="darulhikmat.com"/>