Science and technology in Pakistan: Difference between revisions

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In Pakistan, science and technology served as an important part of national politics, practices, and identities. From 1960s till the present, both science and technology were immediately linked to national ideology and practical functioning of Pakistan, notably the Pakistan Armed Forces. While, science and technology is a growing and flourishing field in Pakistan. Many scientists, who worked in India and United Kingdom (like, e.g. Razi Siddiqui and Salim Siddiqui), migrated to Pakistan and would gave birth to Pakistan science. Since its independence from Great Britain in 1947, the newly-found nation of Pakistan has seen a large influx of scientists, engineers, doctors, and technicians assuming an active role in Pakistan's fields of science and technology. During the era of Liaqat Ali Khan, the first Prime minister, invited hundreds of scientists from India and made various reforms were initiated for improvement in high education and scientific research.

Marked by highly developed pure sciences and innovation at theoretical level, interpretation and application fell short. Physics (theoretical, nuclear, particle, laser, and Quantum physics), Material science, Metallurgy (Engineering), Biology, Chemistry (Organic), and Mathematics, are the fields that Pakistan citizens excelled. During the 1960s till the present, the Pakistan government made the development and advancement of science a national priority and showered top scientists with honours. With government making efforts to make science as part of national politics, there are several examples of budge cuts in the science funds where corruption remains a vital part of Pakistan politics. In the most notorious case, the government dissolved the Higher Education Commission — an administrative body that supervise the research in science — in 2011.

Pakistan scientists won acclaim in several fields. They were at the cutting edge of science in fields such as mathematics and in several branches of physical science, notably theoretical and nuclear physics, chemistry, and astronomy. Professor Abdus Salam, a theoretical physicist, was the first and remain the only Pakistan citizen to have won the prestigious Nobel Prize in 1979. Pakistan technology is mostly high developed in the fields of nuclear physics and explosives engineering, where the arms race with the India convinced policy makers to set aside sufficient resources for research. Due to a crash programme directed by Munir Ahmad Khan and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Pakistan is the seventh nation to developed an atomic bomb, which the global intelligence community believes, Pakistan had developed the device in 1983 (see Kirana-I), nine years after the India (see Pokhran-I). Pakistan first publicly tested its devices (see Chagai-I and Chagai-II) on 28th and 30th May of 1998, a mere two weeks after the Republic of India carried its own (See Pokhran-II. Space exploration was hastily well developed: in 1990 Pakistan launched Badr-I followed by Badr-II in 2001. Since 1980s, the space programme dedicated itself to the military technologies (Integrated Missile Progomme and Services Missile System), and maintains a strong programme developed for the military applications.

Organizational history

Unlike its neighbor country India and the some Western countries, majority of the research programmes are conducted not at the institutions but at the specially set up research facilities and institutes. These institutes are performed under the government Ministry of Science and Technology that overlooks the development and promotion of science in the country, while others are performed under Pakistan Academy of Sciences or other specialized academies or even the the research arms of various government ministries. At first, the core of fundamental science was the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, originally set up in 1953 and moved from Karachi to Islamabad in 1964. The Pakistan Academy of Sciences consists are large percentage of researchers in natural sciences, particularly physics. During 1950s and 1960s, both West-Pakistan and East-Pakistan had their own academies of science, with the East-Pakistan economically relying on West-Pakistan to allot the funds. Medical research is coordinated and funded by the Health Ministry and agriculture research is led by Agriculture Ministry and the research on environmental sciences are taken care by the Environment Ministry. As an aftermath of 1971 Indo-Pakistan Winter War, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto funded around more than 200% funding of science, dedicated to the military research and development. Bhutto, with the help of Salam, gathered hundreds of scientists working abroad to developed what becames an atom bomb. For the first time, Pakistan's citizens made advancement in nuclear physics, theoretical physics and mathematics. In 1980s, General Zia-ul-Haq radicalized the science with enforcing pseudoscience by Muslim fundamentalists in Pakistan's schools and universities.

==Scientific Research Institutions (SRI)

A large part of research is conducted by science research institutes with semi-controlled by the Government.

In 1990, Pakistan became first Muslim majority country to successfully developed artificial robot satellite which was launched by the China. In 1998, in response of India's 1998 nuclear testing, Pakistan under the leadership of Prime minister Nawaz Sharif, tested its six successfully and indegeniosly developed atomic devices, codename Chagai-I and Chagai-II. With the testing of these atomic devices, Pakistan became 7th nuclear power country in the world.

Information Technology

Mindstorm studios a lahore based company has developed a game called Cricket Revolution which also won the Cricket gaming awards 2010 - runner-up award

Natural sciences

Pakistan is the home of Dr. Abdus Salam who became the first Pakistani winner of Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979. Abdus Salam was the father of scientific research in Pakistan.^[1] Under the watchful direction of Salam, mathematicians and physicists tackled the greatest and outstanding problems in physics and mathematics.^[1] From 1960 to 1974, Salam was responsible for leading the research at its maximum point. This prompted the international recognition of Pakistani mathematicians and physicists, that resulted the for the Pakistani scientists and mathematicians to conduct their research at CERN.^[1] This period is often regarded as the Golden age of Physics in Pakistan, where physicists, particularly from Pakistan, had shared and applied an effort to the advancement of physics and mathematics.

The 1960s and the 1970s period is regarded as the rise of Pakistan's science, which gained an international reputation in the different science communities of the world.^[1] During this period, scientists contributed to the fields of, particularly, Theoretical, Particle, Mathematical, and the Nuclear physics, and other major and sub fields of Physics.^[1] The research was preceded by such key physicists as Riazuddin, Ishfaq Ahmad, Pervez Hoodbhoy and Samar Mubarakmand, among others.

Hoodbhoy Report

However, according to leading Pakistani nuclear physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy, scientific output in Pakistan is significantly lower than many other developing countries^[2] Hoodbhoy cites that Pakistan has produces far fewer papers than neighboring India.^[3] In terms of the number of published scientific research papers, together with the citations to them, Hoodbhoy demonstrates that the output of Pakistan for physics papers, over the period from 1 January 1997 to 28 February 2007, together with the total number of publications in all scientific fields, is substantially lower than Brazil, India, China, and the United States.^[3]^[4] Hoodbhoy attributes this dearth to militant Islam in Pakistan and the promotion of pseudoscience by Muslim fundamentalists in Pakistani schools and universities.^[5]

Declined

Pakistan has been known internationally for some of its major achievements in science and technology such as successful development of media and military technologies and a growing base of doctors and engineers, as well as a fair amount of its new influx of software engineers who have been actively contributing to Pakistan's potential in the Information Technology industry. However due to present situation in Pakistan, around 3,000 Pakistani doctors emigrate to Western economies in search of suitable employment opportunities and hence contribute intellectually to the health sector of developed countries.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Riazuddin (1998-11-21). "Physics in Pakistan". ICTP. Retrieved 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
^ Science and the Islamic world—The quest for rapprochement, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Physics Today
^ ^a ^b The seven most scientifically productive Islamic countries as of early 2007 compared against a selection of other countries, Philadelphia-based science information specialist, Thomson Scientific
^ Muslim science must join the 21st century, Athar Osama, Scidev.net
^ Islamic failure, by Pervez Hoodbhoy, Prospect Magazine

[ICTP-1] Riazuddin (1998-11-21). "Physics in Pakistan". ICTP. Retrieved 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

[2] Science and the Islamic world—The quest for rapprochement, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Physics Today

[Hoodbhoy-ptonline-3] The seven most scientifically productive Islamic countries as of early 2007 compared against a selection of other countries, Philadelphia-based science information specialist, Thomson Scientific

[4] Muslim science must join the 21st century, Athar Osama, Scidev.net

[5] Islamic failure, by Pervez Hoodbhoy, Prospect Magazine

[1]

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
-== Organizations ==
+==  ==
 Unlike its neighbor country [[India]] and the some Western countries, majority of the research programmes are conducted not at the institutions but at the specially set up research facilities and institutes. These institutes are performed under the government [[Ministry of Science and Technology (Pakistan)|Ministry of Science and Technology]] that overlooks the development and promotion of science in the country, while others are performed under [[Pakistan Academy of Sciences|Pakistan Academy of Sciences]] or other specialized academies or even the the research arms of various government ministries. At first, the core of fundamental science was the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, originally set up in 1953 and moved from Karachi to Islamabad in 1964. The Pakistan Academy of Sciences consists are large percentage of researchers in natural sciences, particularly physics. During 1950s and 1960s, both [[West Pakistan|West-Pakistan]] and [[East Pakistan|East-Pakistan]] had their own academies of science, with the East-Pakistan economically relying on West-Pakistan to allot the funds. Medical research is coordinated and funded by the [[Ministry of Health (Pakistan)|Health Ministry]] and agriculture research is led by  [[Ministry of Agriculture (Pakistan)|Agriculture Ministry]] and the research on environmental sciences are taken care by the [[Ministry of Environment (Pakistan)|Environment Ministry]].
+==Scientific Research Institutions (SRI)
+A large part of research is conducted by science research institutes with semi-controlled by the Government.
+*[[Hussain Ebrahim Jamal Research Institute of Chemistry|H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemisty]]
+*[[National Center for Physics|National Center for Physics]]
+*[[Abdus Salam School of Mathematics|National Institute of Mathematics]]
+*[[Centre for High Energy Physics (University of the Punjab)|PU Centre for High Energy Physics]]
+*[[Institute of Space and Planetary Astrophysics]]
+*[[National Engineering and Scientific Commission]]
+*[[Pakistan Institute of Physics|Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Physics]]
+*[[Institute of Space Technology]]
+*[[Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research|Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]]
+*[[Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology]]
+*[[Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture]]
+*[[Technology Resource Mobilization Unit]]
+*[[Federal Bureau of Statistics]]
+*[[Statistics Division of the Government of Pakistan|Mathematics Statistical Division]]
 In 1990, [[Pakistan]] became first [[Muslim world|Muslim majority country]] to [[Badr-1|successfully developed artificial robot satellite]] which was launched by the [[People's Republic of China|China]]. In 1998, in response of [[Operation Shakti|India's 1998 nuclear testing]], [[Pakistan]] under the leadership of [[Prime Minister of Pakistan|Prime minister]] [[Nawaz Sharif]], tested its six successfully and indegeniosly developed  [[Nuclear device|atomic devices]], codename [[Chagai-I]] and [[Chagai-II]]. With the [[Atomic testing|testing of these atomic devices]], Pakistan became 7th nuclear power country in the world.