Science and technology is a growing field
in Pakistan and has played an important role
in the country's development since its founding.
Pakistan has a large pool of scientists, engineers,
doctors, and technicians assuming an active
role in science and technology. Liaquat Ali
Khan the first Prime Minister of Pakistan
(in office 15 August 1947 – 16 October 1951),
made various reforms to initiate improvement
in higher education and scientific research.
The real growth in science in Pakistan occurred
after the establishment of the Higher education
Commission in 2002 which supported science
in a big way and also became the major sponsor
of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences under
the leadership of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS.
The first IT policy and implementation strategy
was approved under the leadership of Prof.
Atta-ur-Rahman FRS, then Federal Minister
of Science & technology, in August 2000 which
laid the foundations of the development of
this sector On the request of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman
Intel initiated a nation wide programme to
train school teachers in Information and Communication
technologies in March 2002 which has led to
the training of 220,000 school teachers in
70 districts and cities across Pakistan. A
15 year tax holiday was approved on the recommendation
of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS which has resulted
in growth of IT business from $ 30 million
in 2001 to over $ 3 billion.The Pakistan Austria
University of Applied Engineering (Fachhochschule)
is now being established in Haripur Hazara
under the Chairmanship of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman
FRS in which students will get degrees from
several Austrian universitiesChemistry remains
the strongest subject in the country with
the International Center for Chemical and
Biological Sciences playing the lead role
with the largest postgraduate research program
in the country having about 600 students enrolled
for PhD..Physics (theoretical, nuclear, particle,
laser, and quantum physics), material science,
metallurgy (engineering), biology, and mathematics,
are some of the other fields in which Pakistani
scientists have contributed. From the 1960s
and onwards, the Pakistani government made
the development and advancement of science
a national priority and showered top scientists
with honours. While the government has made
efforts to make science a part of national
development, there have been criticisms of
federal policies, such as the government's
dissolution of the Higher Education Commission
of Pakistan (HEC)— an administrative body
that supervised research in science — in
2011. This attempted dissolution failed to
materialise because of a Supreme Court of
Pakistan decision on a petition filed by Prof.
Atta-ur-Rahman, former Federal Minister of
Science & technology and former founding Chairman
of the Higher Education Commission. Pakistani
scientists have also won acclaim in mathematics
and in several branches of physical science,
notably theoretical and nuclear physics, chemistry,
and astronomy. Professor Abdus Salam, a theoretical
physicist won the Nobel Prize in Physics in
1979, being the first and only Pakistani to
date to have received the honor. Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman
an organic chemist was elected as Fellow of
Royal Society (London) in 2006 in recognition
of his contributions in the field of natural
products thereby becoming the first scientist
from the Islamic world to receive this honour
for work carried out within an Islamic country..
The contributions of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman
to uplift science and higher education in
Pakistan were internationally acknowledged
and a tribute paid to him in the world's leading
science journal Nature that termed him as
"a force of nature".
Technology is most highly developed in nuclear
physics and explosives engineering, where
the arms race with India convinced policy
makers to set aside sufficient resources for
research. Due to a programme directed by Munir
Ahmad Khan and the Pakistan Atomic Energy
Commission (PAEC), Pakistan is the seventh
nation to have developed an atomic bomb, which
the global intelligence community believes
it had done by 1983 (see Kirana-I), nine years
after India (see Pokhran-I). Pakistan first
publicly tested its devices (see Chagai-I
and Chagai-II) on 28 and 30 May 1998, two
weeks after India carried out its own tests
(See Pokhran-II).Space exploration was hastily
developed, in 1990 Pakistan launched Badr-1
followed by Badr-II in 2001. Since the 1980s,
the space programme dedicated itself to military
technologies (Space weapons programme and
Integrated missile systems), and maintains
a strong programme developed for military
applications.
Pakistan is an associate member of CERN, one
of the few countries to obtain that status.
== History ==
The Scientific and Technological Research
Division (S&TR) was established in 1964 for
(i) coordination and implementation of national
science and technology policy; (ii) promotion
and coordination of research and utilization
of the results of research; (iii) development,
production and utilization of nuclear energy;
and (iv) coordination of utilization of scientific
and technological manpower. The Division was
administratively responsible for National
Science Council, the Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research, the Atomic Energy
Commission and the Space and Upper Atmospheric
Research Committee.
The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoS&T)
has been functioning since 1972. It is the
national focal point and enabling arm of Government
of Pakistan for planning, coordinating and
directing efforts; to initiate and launch
scientific and technological programs and
projects as per national agenda for sound
and sustainable Science & Technology Research
base for the socio-economic development.
From the areas of industrial development to
renewable energy and rural development, the
Ministry suggests technological development
for higher growth-rates and to improve standards
of living. Its principal focus is on building
Pakistan's technological competence and developing
a larger pool of human resources to reverse
brain drain, and for integrating the existing
technological infrastructure for strengthening
of technology institutions, effective governance
of S&TR and enhancing the capacity of indigenous
innovation systems.
== State controlled science ==
Unlike some Western countries, the majority
of the research programmes are conducted not
at the institutions (such as universities)
but at specially set up research facilities
and institutes. These institutes are performed
under the government's Ministry of Science
that overlooks the development and promotion
of science in the country, while others are
performed under the Pakistan Academy of Sciences,
other specialized academies and even 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
has a large percentage of researchers in the
natural sciences, particularly physics. From
1947 to 1971, the research was being conducted
independently with no government influence.
The High Tension Laboratories (HTL) at the
Government College University, Lahore (GCU)
was established by R. M. Chaudhry with funds
given by the British government in the 1950s.
In 1967, Professor Abdus Salam led the foundation
of the Institute of Theoretical Physics (ITP)
at the Quaid-e-Azam University, and the establishment
of the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science
and Technology (PINSTECH) and the Centre for
Nuclear Studies; all were independently established
by Pakistan's academic scientists with financial
assistance provided by European countries.
However, after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became
President, he took control of scientific research
in 1972 as part of his intensified socialist
reforms and policies. With advice taken from
Dr. Mubashir Hassan, Bhutto established the
Ministry of Science with Ishrat Hussain Usmani,
a bureaucrat with a doctorate in atomic physics.During
the 1950s and 1960s, both West Pakistan and
East Pakistan had their own academies of science,
with the East Pakistan relying on West Pakistan
to allot the funds. Medical research is coordinated
and funded by the Health Ministry and agricultural
research is led by Agriculture Ministry and
likewise, the research on environmental sciences
is headed by the Environment Ministry.An aftermath
of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan Winter War was that
President Bhutto increased scientific funding
by the Government by more than 200%, mostly
dedicated to military research and development.
Bhutto, with the help of his Science Adviser
Dr. Salam, gathered hundreds of Pakistani
scientists working abroad to develop what
became Pakistan's atom bomb. This crash programme
was directed at first by Dr. Abdus Salam until
1974, and then directed and led by Dr. Munir
Ahmad Khan from 1974 until 1991. For the first
time an effort was made by the government
when Pakistan's citizens made advancements
in nuclear physics, theoretical physics and
mathematics. In the 1980s, General Muhammad
Zia-ul-Haq radicalized science by enforcing
pseudoscience - by his Muslim fundamentalists
as administrators - in Pakistan's schools
and universities. Zia-ul-Haq later promoted
Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan to export the sensitive
industrial (military) technologies to Libya,
Iran, and North Korea. Because of government
control, academic research in Pakistan remains
highly classified and unknown to the international
scientific community. There have been several
failed attempts made by foreign powers to
infiltrate the country's research facilities
to learn how much research has progressed
and how much clandestine knowledge has been
gained by Pakistan's scientists. One of the
notable cases was in the 1970s, when the Libyan
intelligence made an unsuccessful attempt
to gain knowledge on critical aspects of nuclear
technology, and crucial mathematical fast
neutron calculations in theoretical physics.
It was thwarted by the ISI Directorate for
Joint Intelligence Technical (JIT). From the
1980s and onward, both Russian intelligence
and the Central Intelligence Agency made several
attempts to access Pakistan's research but
because of the ISI, they were unable to gain
any information. From the period 1980 to 2004,
research in science fell short until General
Pervez Mushrraf established the Higher Education
Commission (HEC) which heightened the contribution
of science and technology in Pakistan. The
major boost to science in Pakistan occurred
under the leadership of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman
FRS as the founding Chairman of the Higher
Education Commission when about 11,000 students
were sent to top universities abroad for PhD
and postdoctoral training. This has resulted
in the enormous increase in research output
of Pakistan in Impact factor journals from
about 800 per year in the year 2000 to over
12,000 publications per year. This drew positive
comments from Thomson Reuters about the sharp
increase in highly cited papers in comparison
to Brazil, Russia, India and ChinaMajor research
was undertaken by Pakistan's institutes in
the field of natural sciences. In 2003, the
Ministry of Science and Technology of the
Government of Pakistan and the United States
Department of State signed a comprehensive
Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement
that established a framework to increase cooperation
in science, technology, engineering and education
for mutual benefit and peaceful purposes between
the science and education communities in both
countries. In 2005, the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID) joined
with the Ministry of Science and Technology
(MOST) and the Higher Education Commission
of Pakistan to support the joint Pakistan-U.S.
Science and Technology Cooperation Program.
Beginning in 2008, the U.S. Department of
State joined USAID as U.S. co-sponsor of the
program. This program, which is being implemented
by the National Academy of Sciences on the
U.S. side, is intended to increase the strength
and breadth of cooperation and linkages between
Pakistan scientists and institutions with
counterparts in the United States. However,
with unfavourable situations, research declined.
In 2011, the government dissolved the HEC
and the control of education was taken over
by governmental ministries.. Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman
FRS filed a petition in the Supreme Court
of Pakistan against the government action.
The Supreme Court decided in favour of the
stand taken by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman, and the
federal nature of the Higher Education Commission
was preserved.
== Scientific research institutions (SRI)
==
A large part of research is conducted by science
research institutes with semi-controlled by
the Government.
International Center for Chemical and Biological
Sciences
H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry
Dr. Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine
and Drug Research
National Center for Physics
National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic
Engineering
Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences
PU Centre for High Energy Physics
Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences,
NUST
Institute of Space and Planetary Astrophysics
National Engineering and Scientific Commission
Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and
Technology
Institute of Space Technology
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
Mathematics Statistical Division
== 
Science policy ==
=== National Science, Technology and Innovation
Policy ===
The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology
has overseen the S&T sector since 1972. However,
it was not until 2012 that Pakistan’s first
National Science, Technology and Innovation
Policy was formulated: this was also the first
time that the government had formally recognized
innovation as being a long-term strategy for
driving economic growth. The policy principally
emphasizes the need for human resource development,
endogenous technology development, technology
transfer and greater international co-operation
in research and development (R&D).The policy
was informed by the technology foresight exercise
undertaken by the Pakistan Council for Science
and Technology from 2009 onwards. By 2014,
studies had been completed in 11 areas: agriculture,
energy, ICTs, education, industry, environment,
health, biotechnology, water, nanotechnology
and electronics. Further foresight studies
were planned on pharmaceuticals, microbiology,
space technology, public health, sewage and
sanitation, as well as higher education.
=== National Science, Technology and Innovation
Strategy ===
Following the change of government in Islamabad
after the May 2013 general election, the new
Ministry of Science and Technology issued
the draft National Science, Technology and
Innovation Strategy 2014–2018, along with
a request for comments from the public. This
strategy has been mainstreamed into the government’s
long-term development plan, Vision 2025, a
first for Pakistan.
==== Investment in human resources and research
====
The central pillar of the draft National Science,
Technology and Innovation Strategy is human
development. Although the pathway to implementation
is not detailed, the new strategy fixes a
target of raising Pakistan’s gross domestic
expenditure on R&D (GERD) from 0.29% (2013)
to 0.5% of GDP by 2015 then to 1% of GDP by
the end of the current government’s five-year
term in 2018. The ambitious target of tripling
the GERD/GDP ratio in just seven years is
a commendable expression of the government’s
resolve but ambitious reforms will need to
be implemented concurrently to achieve the
desired outcome.
== Notable scientists ==
== Ranking of Pakistani Scientists by Pakistan
Council for Science & Technology ==
The Pakistan Council for Science and Technology
has published a national ranking of the best
scientists in the country
=== 
Nobel Prize ===
Abdus Salam — winner of the Nobel Prize
in Physics (1979) for his electroweak theory
that combines weak nuclear force and electromagnetic
forces.Dr Abdus Salam is the most highly decorated
scientist of Pakistan, honored with most state
awards including the Sitara-e-Pakistan (Star
of Pakistan) in 1959.
=== UNESCO Science Prize ===
Atta-ur-Rahman - winner of the UNESCO Science
Prize for pioneering contributions in natural
product chemistry in 1999. He is the first
scientist from the Islamic world to have won
this prize.
=== Fellows of Royal Society, London ===
Abdus Salam
Salimuzzaman Siddiqui
Atta-ur-Rahman
=== Academician Chinese Academy of Sciences
===
Atta-ur-Rahman - elected Foreign Member in
2016
=== Friendship Award of China ===
Atta-ur-Rahman - awarded Highest Award for
Foreigners in 2014
=== Fellow Korean Academy of Sciences ===
Atta-ur-Rahman
=== Grosse Goldene Ehrenzeischen am Bande,
Austria ===
Atta-ur-Rahman
=== Khwarazmi Prize ===
Atta-ur-Rahman
Iqbal Choudhary
=== 
Fellow Chinese Chemical Society ===
Atta-ur-Rahman (2014)
=== Albert Einstein Award ===
Riazuddin — winner of Einstein Award (2000)
for his contribution in theoretical physics,
notably the contribution in neutrinos.
Mujahid Kamran — winner of Einstein Award
(2001) for the leading research in quantum
mechanics.
=== Einstein Professorship ===
Atta-ur-Rahman - awarded by Chinese Academy
of Sciences in recognition of his contributions
in the field of natural product chemistry
=== 
Highest National Order of Excellence ===
Scientists who are awarded the highest hierarchy
of Pakistan, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Order of
Excellence).
Abdus Salam — honored in 1979 for outstanding
contribution in developing the Pakistan science.
Ishfaq Ahmad — honored with Nishan-e-Imtiaz
(1998) for his contribution in nuclear physics.
Abdul Qadeer Khan — honored twice (1996
and 1999) for developing the gas-centrifuge
programme.
Atta-ur-Rahman — honored in 2002 for his
edge leading research in Natural product chemistry.
Samar Mubarakmand — honored in 2003 for
the contribution in space programme and accelerator
physics.
Ishrat Hussain Usmani — honored in 1998
for his enhancing the science in Pakistan.
Munir Ahmad Khan — honored in 2012 for his
contribution to physics and nuclear engineering
in Pakistan.
=== Order of Crescent ===
Scientists who are conferred with second highest
honored, the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Order of Crescent).
Munir Ahmad Khan — honored in 1989 for building
Pakistan's nuclear fuel cycle programme.
Tasneem M. Shah — honored in 1998 for leading
research in mathematics and pioneering and
instrumental research computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) at Dr. A. Q. Khan Research
Laboratories (KRL).
Atta-ur-Rahman - honoured in 1998 for pioneering
contributions in natural product chemistry
Asghar Qadir — honored in 2008 for his international
research in mathematics and pioneering research
in mathematical science at the Pakistan Atomic
Energy Commission
Salimuzzaman Siddiqui — honored in 1980
for his leading research in medical chemistry.
== National prizes ==
The most prestigious government prize awarded
for achievements in science and technology
is Nishan-e-Imtiaz (or in English Order of
Excellence). While Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Sitara-i-Imtiaz,
and Tamgha-e-Imtiaz occupies a unique role
and importance in Pakistan's civil society.
Atta-ur-Rahman FRS is the only scientist of
Pakistan to have won all these 4 Civil Awards.
== Achievements ==
In 1961, international achievements first
recorded in 1961 when Pakistan became the
third Asian country and tenth in the world
when the Rehbar-I — a solid fuel expandable
rocket— was launched from Sonmani Spaceport.
The Rehbar-I was developed and launched under
the leadership of Dr. W. J. M. Turowicz, a
Polish-Pakistani scientist and then project
director of this program. Since then, the
program began taking flights which continued
until the 1970s.
A major breakthrough occurred in 1979, when
the Nobel Prize Committee awarded the Nobel
Prize in Physics to Abdus Salam, for formulating
the electroweak theory — a theory that provides
the basis of unification of weak nuclear force
and electromagnetic force. In 1990, the Space
and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO)
launched the first, and locally designed,
communication satellite, Badr-1, from Xichang
Satellite Launch Center (XLSC) of the People's
Republic of China. With the launch, Pakistan
became the first Muslim majority country to
have developed an artificial robotic satellite,
and was the second South Asian state to have
launched its satellite, second to India.
One of the widely reported achievements was
in 1998, when the country joined the nuclear
club. In response to India's nuclear tests
on 11 May and 13 May 1998, under codename
Operation Shakti, in the long-constructed
Pokhran Test Range (PTR). Under Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
(PAEC) conducted five simultaneous tests at
the Chagai Hills under codename Chagai-I on
28 May1998. PAEC carried out another test
in the Kharan Desert, under Chagai-II, meaning
it had tested six devices in under one week.
With the testing of these atomic devices,
Pakistan became the seventh nuclear power
in the world, and the only Muslim-majority
country to have mastered the technology. On
13 August 2011, SUPARCO launched its first
indigenously developed geosynchronous satellite,
Paksat-1R also from XLSC in China.
In 2006 Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman was elected as
Fellow of Royal Society (London), thereby
becoming the first scientist from the Muslim
world to be so honoured in recognition of
researches and contributions carried out within
an Islamic country. He has major contributions
to the development of science and technology
as Chairman Higher Education Commission during
2002-2008 which have resulted in a significant
increase in research publications in Pakistan
from only about 800 research papers in Impact
Factor journals in 2002 to over 11,000 publications
in 2016 the quality of which has been recognised
by ThomsonReuters. The International Centre
for Chemical and Biological Sciences at University
of Karachi which has developed as a leading
research centre in the region under the leadership
of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS was designated
as a UNESCO Centre of Excellence in 2016.
Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman was awarded the high
Civil Award of the Government of Austria (the
‘Grosses goldenes Ehrenzeichen am Bande’)
in 2007 in recognition for his contributions
for uplifting science in Pakistan, and the
Government of China also honoured him with
the highest Award for Foreigners (Friendship
Award) in recognition of his eminent contributions..
The largest university of Malaysia, Universiti
Teknologi Mara, established a Research Centre
entitled " Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman Research Institute
of natural Product Discovery" to honour this
great Muslim scientist for uplifting science
in Pakistan and in the Muslim world in his
capacity as Coordinator General COMSTECH,
a Ministerial Committee comprising 57 Ministers
of Science and Technology of the 57 OIC member
countries,.
In 2017, a Chinese study published in Scientometrics
(journal) revealed that Pakistan's research
growth rate and time required to double the
number of publications is superior than that
of USA, China and India..
In another landmark study undertaken by Thomson
Reuters, highlighting the impact of the reforms
introduced by Atta-ur-Rahman FRS, it was revealed
that the rate of growth of highly cited papers
from Pakistan in a decade was even greater
than that in Brazil, Russia, India or China
== Information technology ==
The rapid progress made by Pakistan in the
IT and telecom sector during 2000-2002, under
Professor Atta-ur-Rahman FRS as Federal Minister,
led to the spread of internet from 29 cities
in the year 2000 to 1,000 cities, towns and
villages by 2002, and the spread of fiber
from 40 cities to 400 cities in this period.
The first IT policy and implementation strategy
was approved under the leadership of Prof.
Atta-ur-Rahman FRS, then Federal Minister
of Science & technology, in August 2000 which
laid the foundations of the development of
this sector The internet prices were reduced
sharply from $87,000 per month for a 2 MB
line to only $3000 per month and later to
$90 per month. The mobile telephony boom also
occurred under the leadership of Atta-ur-Rahman,
and it began by the drastic lowering of prices,
bringing in of competition (Ufone) and changing
the system so that the person receiving a
call was no longer required to pay any charges.
A satellite was placed in space (Paksat 1)
at a cost of only $4 million. These changes
in the IT infra-structure proved invaluable
for the Higher education sector. Pakistan
Educational Research Network was set up in
2004 through which one of the finest digital
libraries was established in universities.
In 2002, few university libraries could subscribe
to a handful of journals. Today every student
in every public sector university has free
access to over 20,000 international journals
with back volumes and over 60,000 books from
250 international publishers.
As of 2011, Pakistan has over 20 million internet
users and is ranked as one of the top countries
that have registered a high growth rate in
internet penetration. Overall, it has the
15th largest population of internet users
in the world. In the fiscal year 2012-2013,
the Government of Pakistan aims to spend 4.6
billion rupees (Rs.) on information technology
projects, with emphasis on e-government, human
resource and infrastructure development.
Pakistan’s information technology industry
has gone through a dramatic change, and the
country has taken the lead in adopting some
technologies while also setting an example
for others in global best practices. Matters
relating to the IT industry are overseen and
regulated by the Ministry of Information Technology
of the Government of Pakistan. The IT industry
is regarded as a successful sector of Pakistan
economically, even during the financial crisis.
The Government of Pakistan has given numerous
favors to IT investors in the country since
the last decade, that resulted in the development
of the IT sector. In the years 2003-2005 the
country's IT exports saw a rise of about fifty
percent and amounted a total of about 48.5
million USD. The World Economic Forum, assessing
the development of Information and Communication
Technology in the country ranked Pakistan
102nd among 144 countries in the Global Information
Technology report of 2012.
== Golden age of science ==
The 1960s and the 1970s period is regarded
as the initial rise of Pakistan's science,
which gained an international reputation in
the different science communities of the world.
During this period, scientists contributed
to the fields of, particularly, Natural Product
Chemistry, theoretical, particle, mathematical,
and nuclear physics, and other major and sub
fields of Chemistry and Physics. The research
was preceded by such scientista as Riazuddin,
Ishfaq Ahmad, Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, Atta-ur-Rahman
and Samar Mubarakmand. However the major growth
in scientific output occurred after the establishment
of the Higher Education Commission which was
accompanied by a 60-fold increase in funding
for science
The real growth of science in Pakistan occurred
under the leadership of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman
during 2000-2008 when he was Federal Minister
of Science & Technology and later Chairman
of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) with
the status of Federal Minister. The chairperson
of the Senate Standing Committee on Education
announced the first 6 years of HEC under Prof.
Atta-ur-Rahman as "Pakistan's golden period".
Thomson Reuters, in an independent assessment
of Pakistan's progress in international publications,
has acknowledged that in the last decade there
has been a fourfold increase in international
publications and a tenfold growth in highly
cited papers, statistics that were better
than the BRIC countries.The remarkable transformation
of science and higher education under the
leadership of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman as Federal
Minister of Science & Technology and later
as Chairman of Higher Education Commission
with status of a Federal Minister during the
period 2000-2008 was applauded by many independent
experts and he was called a "force of nature"
in a review published in NatureDr. Abdus Salam,
the first Pakistani winner of the Nobel Prize
in Physics, was the father of physics research
in Pakistan. Under the watchful direction
of Salam, mathematicians and physicists tackled
the greatest and outstanding problems in physics
and mathematics. 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, allowing them to conduct their
research at CERN. Salam and his students (Riazuddin,
Fayyazuddin and others) revolutionized particle
and theoretical physics, are thought to be
modern pioneers of particle physics at all
aspect of it. Pure research was undertaken
in Quantum electrodynamics, Quantum field
theory, protonic decay and major fields in
physics, were pioneered by Pakistan's scientists.
With the establishment of nuclear and neutron
institutes in the country, Pakistan's mathematicians
introduced complex mathematical applications
to study and examine the behaviours of elements
during the fission process. Salimuzzaman Siddiqui,
Atta-ur-Rahman and Iqbal Choudhary are the
pioneering personalities for studying the
isolation of unique chemical compounds from
the Neem (Azadirachta indica), Rauwolfia,
periwinkle ("Catharanthus roseus"), ("Buxus
papillosa") and various other plants.
== Higher education reforms ==
=== 
Reform 2002-2009 ===
In 2002, the University Grants Commission
was replaced by the Higher Education Commission
(HEC), which has an independent chairperson.
The HEC was charged with reforming Pakistan’s
higher education system by introducing better
financial incentives, increasing university
enrolment and the number of PhD graduates,
boosting foreign scholarships and research
collaboration and providing all the major
universities with state-of-the-art ICT facilities.In
a series of reforms in 2002, the HEC instituted
major upgrades for scientific laboratories,
rehabilitating existing educational facilities,
expanding research support and overseeing
the development of one of the best digital
libraries in the region. Seeking to meeting
international standards, a quality assurance
and accreditation process was also established.
Some ~95% of students sent abroad for training
returned, an unusually high result for a developing
country, in response to improved salaries
and working conditions at universities as
well as bonding and strict follow-up by the
commission, Fulbright and others. Within a
limited timespan, the HEC provided all universities
with free, high-speed Internet access to scientific
literature, an upgrade of research equipment
accessible across the country and a programme
for the creation of new universities of science
and technology, including science parks which
attracted foreign investors.
==== International praise for these reforms
====
Since the Higher Education Commission (HEC)
reforms have been carried out in 2002, HEC
has received praise from international higher
education observers. Rahman, founding Chairman
of HEC, has received a number of international
awards for the transformation of the higher
education sector under his leadership.[25]
German academic, Dr. Wolfgang Voelter of Tübingen
University in Germany over viewed the performance
of HEC under the leadership of Rahman and
described the reforms in HEC as "A miracle
happened." After teaching and visiting in
15 universities of Pakistan, Voelter wrote
that the "scenario of education, science and
technology in Pakistan has changed dramatically,
as never before in the history of the country.[25]
The chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee
on Education recently announced the first
6 years of HEC under Rahman as "Pakistan's
golden period in higher education".American
academic Prof. Fred M. Hayward has also praised
the reform process undertaken by Pakistan,
admitting that "since 2002, a number of extraordinary
changes have taken place." Hayward pointed
our that "over the last six years almost 4,000
scholars have participated in PhD programs
in Pakistan in which more than 600 students
have studied in foreign PhD programs'.The
HEC's reforms were also applauded by the United
Nations Commission on Science and Technology
for Development (UNCSTD) which reported that
the "progress made was breath-taking and has
put Pakistan ahead of comparable countries
in numerous aspects." The UNCSTD has closely
monitored the development in Pakistan in the
past years, coming to the conclusion that
HEC's program initiated under the leadership
of Rahman is a "best-practice" example for
developing countries aiming at building their
human resources and establishing an innovative,
technology-based economy.". According to an
article published in the leading science journal
Nature "Rahman's strong scientific background,
enthusiasm for reform and impressive ability
to secure cash made him a hit at home and
abroad. "It really was an anomaly that we
had a person of that stature with that kind
of backing,----Atta-ur-Rahman was a force
of natureRahman has won four international
awards for the revolutionary changes in the
higher education sector brought in the HEC.
Nature, a leading science journal, has also
written a number of editorials and articles
about the transformation brought about in
Pakistan in the higher education sector under
the HEC. In an article entitled "Pakistan
Threat to Indian Science" published in the
leading daily newspaper Hindustan Times, India,
it has been reported that Professor C. N.
R. Rao, Chairman of the Indian Prime Minister's
Scientific Advisory Council made a presentation
to the Indian Prime Minister at the rapid
progress made by Pakistan in the higher education
sector under the leadership of Rahman, Chairman,
Higher Education Commission. It was reported
that as a result of the reforms, "Pakistan
may soon join China in giving India serious
competition in science". "Science is a lucrative
profession in Pakistan. It has tripled the
salaries of its scientists in the last few
years."
=== 
Decentralizing the governance of higher education
===
In 2011–2012, the HEC found itself on the
brink of dissolution iin the face of the 18th
amendment to the Constitution, which devolved
several governance functions to provincial
governments, including that of higher education.
It was only after the Supreme Court intervened
in April 2011, in response to a petition from
the former Chair of the HEC, that the commission
was spared from being divided up among the
four Provinces of Baluchistan, Khyber–Pakhtunkhwa,
Punjab and Sindh.Notwithstanding this, the
HEC’s developmental budget – that spent
on scholarships and faculty training, etc.
– was slashed by 37.8% in 2011–2012, from
a peak of R. 22.5 billion (circa US$ 0.22
billion) in 2009–2010 to Rs 14 billion (circa
US$ 0.14 billion). The higher education sector
continues to face an uncertain future, despite
the marginal increase in developmental spending
wrought by the new administration in Islamabad:
Rs. 18.5 billion (circa US$ 0.18 billion)
in the 2013–2014 budget. According to HEC
statistics, the organization’s budget as
a percentage of national GDP has consistently
fallen from the 2006-2007 peak of 0.33% to
0.19% in 2011–2012.In defiance of the Supreme
Court ruling of April 2011, the provincial
assembly of Sindh Province passed the unprecedented
Sindh Higher Commission Act in 2013 creating
Pakistan’s first provincial higher education
commission. In October 2014, Punjab Province
followed suit as part of a massive restructuring
of its own higher education system.
=== Effect of reforms on student numbers and
academic output ===
Despite the turbulence caused by the legal
battle being waged since the 2011 constitutional
amendment discussed above, the number of degree-awarding
institutions continues to grow throughout
the country, both in the private and public
sectors. University student rolls have continued
to rise, from 0.28 million in 2001 to 0.47
million in 2005 and more than 1.2 million
in 2014. Just under half of universities are
privately owned.Between 2002 and 2009, the
HEC increased the number of PhD graduates
to 6 000 per year and in provided up to 11
000 scholarships for study abroad. The number
of Pakistani publications recorded in Thomson
Reuter's Web of Science (Science Citation
Index Expanded) leapt from 714 to 3 614 over
the same period then to 6778 by 2014. This
progress in scientific productivity appears
to be due to the momentum generated by the
larger numbers of faculty and student scholarships
for study abroad, as well as the swelling
ranks of PhD graduates. Critics argue that
the rapid, massive increase in numbers has
compromised quality, a claim supported by
the stagnation of Pakistani universities in
global education rankings by 2009.
== Challenges ==
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
its new influx of software engineers who have
been actively contributing to Pakistan's potential
in the Information Technology industry. 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 and at
the same time leaving the effects of a brain
drain in Pakistan.Despite some progressive
scientific achievements, Pervez Hoodbhoy published
a report on scientific output in Pakistan
in which he pointed out that research and
scientific activities are significantly lower
than many other developing countries Hoodbhoy
cites that Pakistan has produces fewer papers
than neighboring India.. The contentions of
Hoodbhoy have been strongly refuted by neutral
international experts who have praised the
tremendous increase in research output from
pakistan after the establishment of the Higher
Education Commission in 2002,. In a report
published by Thomson Reuters in 2016, it has
been concluded that the rate of increase of
highly cited papers in international journals
from Pakistan is higher than that from Brazil,
Russia, India or China. Also, in November
2017, a Chinese study published in Scientometrics
(journal) revealed that Pakistan's research
growth rate and time required to double the
number of publications is superior than that
of USA, China and India.
== Science community of Pakistan ==
NUST Science Society
Pakistan Mathematical Society
Pakistan Agricultural Research Council
Pakistan Academy of Sciences
Pakistan Institute of Physics
Pakistan Astrophysicist Society
Pakistan Atomic Energy CommissionPakistan
Atomic Scientists Society
Pakistan Nuclear Society
National Information and Communication Technologies
Research and Development Funds
Pakistan Science Foundation
Department of Pakistan Survey
Pakistan Geo-engineering and Geological Survey
Pakistan Cave Research & Caving Federation
Pakistan Physical Society
Pakistan Optical Society
Khwarizmi Science Society
Pakistan science club
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering
Sciences and Technology
Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science
and Technology
Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and
Technology
National Institute of Food Science and Technology
USTAD Institute of Science & Technology Abbottabad
Royal Institute of Science & Technology Karachi
Gandhara Institute Of Science & Technology
Sukkur Institute of Science & Technology
Bright Institute of Science and technology
- Peshawar
Pakistan Advanced Institute of Science and
Technology
== See also ==
List of Pakistani inventions and discoveries
Economy of Pakistan
== Source ==
This article incorporates text from a free
content work. Licensed under CC-BY-SA IGO
3.0 UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030, UNESCO,
UNESCO Publishing. To learn how to add open
license text to Wikipedia articles, please
see Wikipedia:Adding open license text to
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