The secret that Pak military spokesperson wants to hide: Dad’s loyalty for Bin Laden

Historians often say – and more often repeat – that the making of today is embedded in yesterday, the past. And that the path forward is often paved with the echoes of the past.

In these times of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, especially at a time fake narratives continued to get built by propagandists to serve the interests of their masters, no other name lives up to those constant refrains of professional historians as the life and work of Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Pakistan’s military spokesperson.

Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry is the son of Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, a prominent Pakistani nuclear scientist. Mahmood played a significant role in Pakistan’s nuclear programme, contributing to projects like the Kahuta Enrichment Plant and the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant.

According to a UN document, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood (also called Mahmood Sultan Bashir-Ud-Din) is a nuclear scientist who founded and served as a director of Ummah Tameer e-Nau (UTN), which “provided Usama (Osama) bin Laden (deceased and the Taliban with information about chemical, biological nuclear weapons”. The document adds, “During UTN visits to Afghanistan, Bashir-Ud-Din met Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda leaders and discussed nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. During 2001, Bashir-Ud-Din also met Mullah Omar. During a follow-up meeting, an associate of Usama bin Laden indicated that he had nuclear material and wanted to know how to use it to make a weapon. Bashir-Ud-Din provided information about the infrastructure needed for a nuclear weapons program and the effects of nuclear weapons… Bashir-Ud-Din also provided financial support to the Taliban.” Mahmood, once a key figure in Pakistan’s atomic programme, was later sanctioned by the UN for his shady ties. Such associations led to his designation as a global terrorist by both the United Nations and the United States in 2001.

 

Now, according to The Times of India, critics have described the son, Chaudhry, as “Rawalpindi Roger,” comparing him to Iraq’s discredited war propagandist “Baghdad Bob,” even as Pakistan shapes its global narrative amid mounting security concerns.

True, in the intricate web of Pakistan’s military and political landscape, few figures have drawn as much attention as Chaudhry, who, as the 22nd Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), stands at the forefront of Pakistan’s efforts to build its narrative, mostly fake, on the global stage.

However, his lineage brings with it a complex legacy that intertwines science, ideology, and controversy.

In fact, as mentioned earlier, Chaudhry’s father had played a significant role in Pakistan’s nuclear programme, contributing to projects like the Kahuta Enrichment Plant and the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant.

The revelations about Mahmood’s affiliations cast a long shadow over his son’s career.

As Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry addresses international concerns about Pakistan’s role in combating terrorism, critics question the dichotomy between his public stance and his familial ties. The juxtaposition of his father’s controversial past with his own position in the military’s communication arm becomes a focal point of media scrutiny.

Worse, the man at the helm, Chaudhry, has a past that that will continue to haunt him.

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