Overview

• Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Pakistan Army’s ISPR chief, is the son of Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, a nuclear scientist sanctioned by the UN and US for ties to al-Qaida.
• Mahmood co-founded Ummah Tameer-e-Nau (UTN), an organization accused of aiding al-Qaida and the Taliban with nuclear, chemical, and biological expertise.
• UN and US sanctions against Mahmood stem from meetings with Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders in 2001, where nuclear weapons infrastructure was reportedly discussed.
• While Mahmood was arrested in 2001, Pakistani authorities released him after concluding he lacked the technical capacity to transfer nuclear secrets.
• Chaudhry’s role as the face of Pakistan’s military communications during heightened tensions with India has amplified global scrutiny of the military’s credibility and links to extremist elements.