Editing Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood (section)

== 2001 debriefing and detention ==

Since 1999 and 2000 onwards, Pakistan's [[Pakistani intelligence community|intelligence community]] had been tracking and monitoring  Mahmood whose bushy beard advertised his deep attachment to the [[Afghan Taliban]].<ref name="Free Press"/> After the [[September 11 attacks]] in the [[United States]], the [[Federal Investigation Agency]] (FIA) launched a [[criminal investigation]] against him, leveling charges of unauthorized travel to Afghanistan.<ref>{{harvtxt|Bergen|2011|pp=217–219}}</ref> [[Director of the Central Intelligence Agency]], [[George Tenet]], later described intelligence reports of his meeting with Al Qaeda as "''frustratingly vague''."<ref name=NYT/> When asked by Pakistani and American investigators about the nature of Ummah Tameer-e-Nau's (UTN) work and discussions, Mahmood said that he had nothing to do with the [[al-Qaeda]] and was only working on humanitarian issues like food, health and education.<ref name="Farrar, Straus and Giroux">{{cite book|last1=Weaver|first1=Mary Anne|title=Pakistan in the shadow of jihad and afghanistan|year=2013|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|location=New York|isbn=978-1429944519|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mjS_cKXDn48C&pg=PA237|access-date=22 January 2015|page=237}}</ref> Investigators from [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] (ISI) and the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) were astonished and surprised at the extent of his nuclear weapons knowledge.

During his debriefing, his son Dr. Asim Mahmood, a family medicine doctor, told ISI officials that: "''My father [Mahmood] did meet with [[Osama bin Laden]] and Osama Bin Laden seemed interested in that matter but my father showed no interest in the matter as he met him for food, water and healthcare matters on which his charity was working''."<ref name="Farrar, Straus and Giroux"/>

The FIA criminal probe continued for four months and yielded no concrete results.<ref name="Farrar, Straus and Giroux"/> Pressure from Pakistani society and court inquiries against the FIA's criminal probe led to Mahmood's release in 2001. His family did confirm his release but had been constantly under [[surveillance]] by the FIA; his name was placed on the "[[Exit Control List]]s" so he is not allowed to travel out of Pakistan. Since his release, Mahmood has been out of the public eye and lives a quiet life in [[Islamabad]], devoting most of his time to writing books and doing research work on Islam and science.<ref name="Farrar, Straus and Giroux"/>

Dr. [[Bashir Syed]], former president of the Association of Pakistani Scientists and Engineers of North America (APSENA), said: "I know both of these persons and can tell you there is not an [[iota]] of truth that both these respected scientists and friends will do anything to harm the interest of their own country.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1038/35102221|pmid = 11689900| title=Atomic-bomb experts interrogated over Taliban links| journal=Nature| volume=414| issue=6859| pages=3| year=2001| last1=Adam| first1=David|bibcode = 2001Natur.414....3A| doi-access=free}}</ref>"