Mubashir Hassan facts for kids

Mubashir Hassan (Urdu: مبشر حسن), born on January 22, 1922, and passing away on March 14, 2020, was an important Pakistani politician and engineer. He was also known as a humanist and a political advisor. From 1971 to 1974, he served as the Finance Minister in the government led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

In 1967, Mubashir Hassan helped start the Pakistan Peoples Party. This was a political party that believed in democratic socialism. He co-founded it with Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and J.A. Rahim. As Finance Minister, he played a key role in the government taking control of many private businesses. This was done to help create a planned economy for the country. He also helped manage the money for Pakistan's atomic program. He even helped create the Ministry of Science to boost scientific work in Pakistan.

After leaving his role as Finance Minister in 1974, he became the General-Secretary of the Pakistan Peoples Party. He continued to advise Prime Minister Bhutto. Later, he left politics in the 1980s. He then became a professor of civil engineering at the UET Lahore. He was also an active member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Early Life and Education

Mubashir Hassan was born on January 21, 1922, in Panipat, which was then part of British India. His family had a history of working in medicine. His mother's family was related to Altaf Hussain Hali, a famous Urdu poet. His mother raised him while his father worked for the government in Hyderabad Deccan.

After finishing his early schooling in 1938, Hassan went to Government College University in Lahore. His older brother was studying medicine there. However, Mubashir Hassan soon moved to the University of Engineering and Technology (UET).

In 1942, at the age of 20, Hassan earned his BSc degree in civil engineering. He worked briefly as a Subdivisional Officer (SDO) in the Irrigation department in Amritsar. In 1944, he received a scholarship to study engineering in the United States. He traveled to New York and attended Columbia University. He earned his MSc in civil engineering in 1947.

Hassan returned to India right after the partition of 1947. He joined the engineering faculty at UET Lahore. In 1953, he went back to the United States for his doctoral studies at Iowa State University. He received his PhD in civil engineering in 1955. After returning to Pakistan, he rejoined UET Lahore. He later became the Chairman of the Civil Engineering Department.

His political ideas began to form in 1967, after he saw the 1965 war with India. In 1967, Hassan wrote a political paper called "A Declaration of Unity of People." In this paper, he supported a type of Democratic socialism for East-Pakistan. At that time, he was teaching Engineering physics at the Dhaka University.

Starting Political Work

Mubashir Hassan became well-known for his ideas. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto invited him to West Pakistan. In November 1967, the Pakistan Peoples Party was founded at Bhutto's house. Hassan helped start the party along with J.A. Rahim.

Because of his wide knowledge in science and politics, Hassan became one of Bhutto's closest advisors. In 1970, he acted on behalf of Bhutto to try and form a government with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of the Peoples League. After the 1971 Winter war, Hassan was made Finance Minister. He also helped Bhutto create the Ministry of Science in 1972.

Role in the Atomic Program

Mubashir Hassan's role in Pakistan's atomic program began in 1972. Bhutto asked him to meet with Munir Ahmad Khan from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. Bhutto then changed how atomic energy was managed. He ordered Finance Minister Hassan to handle the money for the atomic program.

Hassan worked closely with Munir Ahmad Khan on the technical and financial parts of the program. He continued to support and manage the program. In 1974, he had some disagreements with Bhutto. This happened after Bhutto removed Malik Meraj Khalid, who was the Law Minister.

In 1974, Hassan resigned from the Finance Ministry. However, he remained loyal to Bhutto. Later in 1974, Bhutto appointed Hassan as his Science Advisor. In this role, Hassan played a big part in setting up the Kahuta Project. He advised Bhutto on different aspects of the atomic program. He did not agree with giving the Kahuta Project to the Corps of Engineers, but Bhutto decided otherwise.

The progress on the atomic program slowed down due to growing public unrest. In 1976, Hassan tried several times to bring different political groups together for talks, but he was not successful. In 1977, he was arrested and put in Adiala Jail with Bhutto. He stayed in prison for seven years, even after Bhutto's execution.

Life After Politics

Mubashir Hassan was released from prison in 1984. He then joined the UET Lahore as a professor of civil engineering. In 1988, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto tried to make him Finance Minister again. However, he refused because Benazir had plans to reduce government control over industries.

Even though Hassan had retired from active politics, he kept writing articles. He wrote about hydraulics engineering and its mathematical problems. He also wrote about economic issues. He remained a strong supporter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his policies. His articles were often published in The News International newspaper. He was also linked to the Pakistan Peoples Party (Murtaza Bhutto) from its beginning.