AQ Khan, another gem picked by Bhutto. Pictures of Dr. Samar should also be posted here, for he was also equally important as Dr. Khan. Dr. Samar once adressed us at the National Univ of Sciences and Tech, where two of his sons got their degrees from, and showed us the video of what this tunnel (in the first picture) was like after they had conducted the tests. Replying to a friends question about the range and strength of Pakistans missiles, Dr. Samar replied by saying 'Good enough to knock out Culcutta'. Great personality!
Dr. Samar recalls the moments of the historic nuclear test
ISLAMABAD: In Pakistan there might be few who have not heard the name of Dr. Samar Mubarak Mand, one of the architects for making Pakistan become the 7th country and the first Muslim nation in the world to posses a nuclear bomb.
Dr. Samar Mubarak, presently Chairman National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM), was conferred Sitara-I-Imtiaz and Hilal-I-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan in lieu of his dedicated services to the nation.
In an interview to an Urdu Sunday Magazine of Nawa-i-Waqt he spot lighted on the events leading to the nuclear tests in May 1998.
"The nuclear power besides using to deter wars (with India) but nuclear reactor would be providing cheapest power (electricity) to the country," he replied to a question.
He said the few moments of the atomic explosion are based on the 25 years history of Pakistan's nuclear capability. "It was the result of the efforts made by thousands of scientists and engineers," he added.
Mand belongs to and educated family in Punjab and his wife is a principal of Government Post Graduate College for Women, Rawalpindi. Commenting on the aftermath of the Indian tests, Dr. Samar said he was summoned to the Prime Minister's office on May 14, 1998 for suggestions for carrying out the atomic tests. "We should give a reply to the Indian tests," he told the PM.
Recalling the moments at the time of the first atomic test in the history of Pakistan he said, "It was 3:15 p.m on May 28 when I pressed the button chanting "Allah-o-Akbar!" (Allah is Great). We had to wait for 32 seconds that were the most important moments in my life."
"My eyes were set on the mountain in which the test was to be conducted. I experienced a halt in my heartbeat on seeing nothing happening after 32 seconds. But all of a sudden it was a big jolt! We had triumphed," he rejoices.
The second test was carried out the next day, May 29 1999. They had to set 30 minutes between the triggering time and explosion. "After setting the explosion time we went to our base camp that was 45 kilometers away since it asn't safe to remain in that area," he told.
"To our disappointment nothing happened after a lapse of 32 minutes. I ordered the helicopter pilot to fly us there. We had just cruised four kilometers that we saw a white mountain standing in front of us. We realized that the atomic test had already been carried out successfully," he said. "This time it was a small size bomb."
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I agree, if we didnt have these great scientists, India would have finished us off long ago!*
[This message has been edited by Spock (edited July 08, 2002).]