fbpx
Wikipedia

Science and technology in Pakistan

January 01, 1970

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. 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.[1] The emphasis was placed on quality rather than numbers during this period.[2][3][4] The quality measures introduced by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman as Founding Chairman HEC included:1) All Ph.D. thesis were evaluated by eminent foreign scientists,2) All PhD theses and research papers were checked for plagiarism 3) Some 11,000 students were sent abroad to leading universities for PhD level training and absorbed on their return, 4) Appointments at faculty positions were linked to international stature of the applicants as judged from their international publications, patents and citations, and (5) Quality Enhancement Cells were established in all universities for the first time in the history of the country.[5] (6) The minimum criteria for establishment of a new university were approved by the Cabinet and universities that did not meet these criteria were closed down.[6] (7) The Model University Ordinance was approved (Appendix 3 in the reference) setting the governance parameters for new universities.[7] (8) A list of fake higher education institutions was prepared and made public.[8] (9) Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) was set up within the Higher Education Commission that established Quality Enhancement Cells (QECs) as its operational units in public and private-sector universities across the country.[9] (10) The funding of universities was linked to excellence in teaching and research under a formula based funding mechanism that considered enrolment, subjects and quality of teaching and research.[10] The first IT policy and implementation strategy was approved under the leadership of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman, then Federal Minister of Science & technology, in August 2000 which laid the foundations of the development of this sector[11] On the request of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman, Intel initiated a nationwide 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.[12] A 15-year tax holiday was approved on the recommendation of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman which has resulted in growth of IT business from $30 million in 2001 to over $3 billion.[13][14] The Pakistan Austria University of Applied Engineering (Fachhochschule) has been established in Haripur Hazara under a Steering Committee Chaired by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman in which students will get degrees from several Austrian universities.[15] Pakistan's growth in scientific output can be seen from the fact that in 1990 Pakistan published 926 scholarly documents while in 2018 the number rose to 20548, a twenty times increase.In contrast India published 21443 scholarly documents in 1990 and the number rose to 171356 in 2018, an eight times increase.[16] In 2018, 336 people per million were researchers in the R&D (Research and Development sector) in Pakistan compared to 256 people per million being researchers in India.[17] The reforms begun by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS in 2003-2008 have continued over the subsequent decade and according to the Web of Science report, there was a 300% growth in research publications in 2019 over the decade, with 2019 marking the first year in which Pakistan was ranked above the world average in research. In 2019, Pakistan produced 300% more publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection than in 2010. In the decade of 2010-2019, more than half of Pakistan’s research was published in journals with Impact Factor. The global influence of Pakistan’s research is increasing as scientists in the country are publishing more in top quartile journals. The Category Normalized Citation Impact of Pakistan’s publications (which measures publications’ impact against their peers worldwide) has risen from 0.67 to 1.03. output.[18] As of 2020, Pakistan has 85% teledensity with 183 million cellular, 98 million 3G/4G and 101 million broadband subscribers, due to the foundations laid by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman of the IT and telecom industry during 2000-2008.[19] In an analysis of scientific research productivity of Pakistan, in comparison to Brazil, Russia, India and China, Thomson Reuters has applauded the developments that have taken place as a result of the reforms introduced by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS, since Pakistan has emerged as the country with the highest increase in the percentage of highly cited papers in comparison to the "BRIC" countries[20]

Abdus Salam was the world's second scientist from a Muslim country to win a Nobel Prize.
Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman is first scientist from the Muslim World to be elected Fellow of Royal Society (London) in recognition of researches conducted within an Islamic country.
Prof. Wolfgang Voelter eminent German scientist with building established at International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, Karachi University in his honour
HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry

Chemistry 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.[21][22] 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.[23] 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.[24] 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".[25] In an analysis of scientific research productivity of Pakistan, in comparison to Brazil, Russia, India, and China, Thomson Reuters has applauded the developments that have taken place as a result of the reforms introduced by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS, since Pakistan has emerged as the country with the highest increase in the percentage of highly cited papers in comparison to the "BRIC" countries.[26] In recognition of building strong bridges between science in Pakistan and China, Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS received the highest national award of China, the "International Science and Technology Cooperation Award".[27][28] His book on NMR spectroscopy published by Springer Verlag was translated into Japanese language and used for teaching courses on NMR spectroscopy in Japan.[29] His book entitled "Stereoselective Synthesis in Organic Chemistry" published by Springer Verlag was described as a "monumental tome" by the Nobel Laureate Sir Derek Barton who wrote the Foreword to this book.[30]

Technology is highly developed in nuclear physics and explosives engineering, where the arms race with India convinced policymakers 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).[31]

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.[32] Pakistan was ranked 88th in the Global Innovation Index in 2023, up from 107th in 2020.[33][34][35]

During 2018-2019, the Government of Pakistan has formed a number of Task Forces to strengthen science and technology, information technology and knowledge economy. The task force formed in 2018 on "Technology Driven Knowledge Economy" is chaired by the Prime Minister Mr. Imran Khan and has Atta-ur-Rahman as its Vice Chairman [36] The group has several important Federal Ministers as members including Ministers of Finance, Planning, Education, IT/Telecom, Science & Technology and chairman Higher Education Commission. The task force aims to promote research in important and emerging technology fields.[37] Another important task force of the Prime Minister is that on science & technology with Atta-ur-Rahman as its chairman.[38] As a result of the efforts of these Task Forces under the leadership of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS, a huge change has occurred in the Ministry of Science and Technology and the development budget of the Federal Ministry of Science and technology has been enhanced by over 600% due to the projects initiated by these Task Forces, allowing a large number of new important initiatives in the fields of materials engineering, genomics, industrial biotechnology, alternative energy, minerals, regenerative medicine, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence to be undertaken.[39] Pakistan's first foreign engineering university (Pak Austria Fachhochschule) is a unique hybrid model involving a Fachhochschule half and a postgraduate research half, with a central technology park. With 8 foreign universities collaborating (3 Austrian and 5 Chinese), it has also started functioning under the supervision of a steering committee headed by Atta-ur-Rahman[40] in Haripur, Hazara. A number of such foreign engineering universities are in the process of being established under the supervision of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS. These include one in Sialkot the foundation stone of which has already been laid by the Prime Minister of Pakistan,[41] and another in the lands behind Prime Minister House, Islamabad[42]

History

Main articles: History of science and technology in Pakistan and History of science and technology in the Indian subcontinent

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 the National Science Council, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Atomic Energy Commission and 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 the strengthening of technology institutions, effective governance of S&TR and enhancing the capacity of indigenous innovation systems.

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.[43] During this period, scientists contributed to the fields of, particularly, Natural Product Chemistry, theoretical, particle, mathematical, and nuclear physics, and other major and subfields of Chemistry and Physics.[43] The research was preceded by such scientists 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

 
Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS receiving UNESCO Science Prize at World Congress on Science in Budapest Hungary (1999)
 
Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman being awarded Fellowship of Royal Society (London) by Prof. Sir Martin Reese, President of Royal Society, 14th July 2006
 
Atta-ur-Rahman Institute of Natural Product Discovery established in Malaysia's largest university, Universiti Teknologi, Mara, near Kuala Lumpur

The real growth of science in Pakistan occurred under the leadership of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman during 2000–2008 when he was the 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".[44] 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.[45]

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 Nature[25]

Dr. Abdus Salam, the first Pakistani winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, was the father of physics research in Pakistan.[43] Under the watchful direction of Salam, mathematicians and physicists tackled the greatest and outstanding problems in physics and mathematics.[43] 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.[43] 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), Rauvolfia, periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), (Buxus papillosa) and various other plants.

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.[46] 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.[46] 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.[47] The Pakistan Academy of Sciences has a large percentage of researchers in the natural sciences, particularly physics.[47] From 1947 to 1971, the research was being conducted independently with no government influence.[47] 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.[48] 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.[48] However, after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became president, he took control of scientific research in 1972 as part of his intensified socialist reforms and policies.[48] 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.[46][48]

During the 1950s and 1960s, both West Pakistan and East Pakistan had their own academies of science, with East Pakistan relying on West Pakistan to allot the funds.[46] Medical research is coordinated and funded by the Health Ministry[49] and agricultural research is led by Agriculture Ministry[50] and likewise, the research on environmental sciences is headed by the Environment Ministry.[48][51]

The 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.[52] 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).[52] 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.[52] 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 as the founding Chairman of the Higher Education Commission when about 11,000 students were sent to top universities abroad for Ph.D. and postdoctoral training. This has resulted in the enormous increase in the research output of Pakistan in Impact factor journals from about 800 per year in the year 2000 to over 12,000 publications per year.[53] This drew positive comments from Thomson Reuters about the sharp increase in highly cited papers in comparison to Brazil, Russia, India and China[54] Major research was undertaken by Pakistan's institutes in the field of natural sciences.[46] 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.[55] However, with unfavourable situations,[clarification needed] research declined. In 2011, the government dissolved the HEC and the control of education was taken over by governmental ministries.[46] Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman 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.[23]

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).[56]

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.[56]

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.[56]

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.[56]

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, Pride of Performance, Sitara-i-Imtiaz, and Tamgha-e-Imtiaz occupies a unique role and importance in Pakistan's civil society. Atta-ur-Rahman is the only scientist of Pakistan to have won all these 4 Civil Awards.

Achievements

 
Academician Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman Research Center Inaugurated at Hunan University of Chinese Medicine with Mr. Fawad Choudhary, Minister of Science of Pakistan as Guest of Honour

In 1961, international achievements first recorded in 1961 when Pakistan became the third[clarification needed] Asian country and tenth[clarification needed] in the world when the Rehbar-I – a solid fuel expendable 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, a 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 May 1998. 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.

 
Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman Laboratories at International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, UNESCO Center of Excellence

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.[24] He has major contributions in the development of natural product chemistry and several international journals have published special issue in recognition of these contributions in his honour,[57][58][59][60] He contributed to the major 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.[54] The International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences at the University of Karachi which has developed as a leading research centre in the region under the leadership of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman was designated as a UNESCO Centre of Excellence in 2016.[61] 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,[62] and the Government of China also honoured him with the highest Award for Foreigners (Friendship Award) in recognition of his eminent contributions.[63] 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.[64][65] More recently, the leading Chinese University on Traditional Medicine in Changsha, Hunan has also decided to name a research institute in honour of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS, in recognition of his eminent contributions to uplift science in Pakistan and to establish strong linkages with China.[66]

In another landmark study undertaken by Thomson Reuters, highlighting the impact of the reforms introduced by Atta-ur-Rahman, 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[54]

In reply to C.N.R. Rao Professor Atta-ur-Rahman wrote recently, The Indian government need not be worried. We Pakistanis, alas, know how to destroy our own institutions.[67]

Information technology

Main article: Information technology in Pakistan

The rapid progress made by Pakistan in the IT and telecom sector during 2000–2002, under Professor Atta-ur-Rahman 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, then Federal Minister of Science & technology, in August 2000 which laid the foundations of the development of this sector[11] 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.[68] 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.[69] 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.[citation needed] 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.[clarification needed] 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 US$48.5 million. 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.[citation needed]

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.[56]

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 meet international standards, 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 : Pakistan's Golden Period for Higher Education

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."[citation needed] 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".[44]

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."[70] Hayward pointed out that "over the last six years almost 4,000 scholars have participated in Ph.D. programs in Pakistan in which more than 600 students have studied in foreign PhD programs'.[70]

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."[71] 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.".[71] 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 nature[25]

Rahman 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."[72]

Decentralizing the governance of higher education

In 2011–2012, the HEC found itself on the brink of dissolution in 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 Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS former Chairman HEC filed a petition before the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Supreme Court intervened in April 2011, that the commission was spared from being divided up among the four Provinces of Baluchistan, Khyber–Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh.[56]

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.[56]

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.[56]

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.[56]

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, and to over 20,000 by 2020. 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.[56][73] However this claim has been refuted by neutral international experts.[74][75]

Challenges

 
Pak India Comparison of Research publications per 10 million population for period 2000-2018; Pakistan green India blue;Pakistan overtook India in 2017 due to reforms introduced by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS

Pakistan has been known for some of its 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 contributing to Pakistan's 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.[citation needed]

Pervez Hoodbhoy published a report on scientific output in Pakistan in which he claimed that research and scientific activities are lower than many other developing countries[76] Hoodbhoy asserted that Pakistan has produced fewer papers than neighboring India.[77] The contentions of Hoodbhoy have been questioned for using outdated data.[citation needed] The increase in research output from Pakistan has been praised after the establishment of the Higher Education Commission in 2002.[54][78][79] This is borne out by the graphical comparison between Pakistan and India shown on the right which shows that Pakistan (green) was 400% behind India (blue) in research publications per 10 million population in year 2000 but overtook India in 2017 and by 2018, it was about 20% ahead of India according to Web of Science data.

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.[54]

Pakistan’s public-sector infrastructure for science and technology is complemented by academic institutions and the strategic and defence sectors. Over the years, these three components have vied for political patronage and societal recognition, leading to duplication and competition between the different bodies.[80]

Scientific research institutions (SRI)

See also: List of research institutes in Pakistan
 
HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry University of Karachi, is integral part of Internarional Center for Chemical and Biological sciences, the regional UNESCO Center of Excellence
 
Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, University of Karachi, is integral part of Internarional Center for Chemical and Biological sciences, the regional UNESCO Center of Excellence
 
National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faisalabad, Pakistan.

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

Science community of Pakistan

See also

Sources

  This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0. Text taken from UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030​, UNESCO, UNESCO Publishing.

  This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (license statement/permission). Text taken from UNESCO Science Report: the Race Against Time for Smarter Development​, 574–603, UNESCO Publishing.

Further reading

  • "Rank of Pakistan in Technology; Amazing Facts And Figures (2021)". Protechrise.

References

  1. ^ "Home".
  2. ^ "Fix the HEC".
  3. ^ "The HEC in a mess".
  4. ^ "Higher quality".
  5. ^ "Higher Education Reform in Pakistan". December 2007.
  6. ^ https://hec.gov.pk/english/services/universities/Documents/887_HEC2_Criteria_of_university_institutions.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  7. ^ https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/universities/Documents/887_HEC2_Criteria_of_university_institutions.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  8. ^ "Illegal/Fake Universities & Campuses".
  9. ^ "Quality Assurance Agency".
  10. ^ https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/universities/FP/Documents/Funding-policy-HEIs.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  11. ^ a b (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ "INTEL ICT Programs in Pakistan". 21 January 2010.
  13. ^ "Pakistan at a crossroads".
  14. ^ "Science and Technology in Pakistan: The Way Forward". 13 September 2002.
  15. ^ "Paf-Iast".
  16. ^ "Scimago Journal and country rank". Scimago institutions ranking.
  17. ^ "Researchers in R&D(per million people)". The world bank.
  18. ^ "Web of Science Group".
  19. ^ "Pakistani startups raise $85 million in 2021 with rush of foreign capital in fintechs". 13 June 2021.
  20. ^ . Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  21. ^ "International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences".
  22. ^ "Higher Education Past, Present and Future". 10 February 2016.
  23. ^ a b "18th Amendment implementation: Supreme Court comes to HEC's rescue". 13 April 2011.
  24. ^ a b "Atta-Ur Rahman | Royal Society".
  25. ^ a b c Brumfiel, Geoff; Inman, Mason (2010). "Boom and bust plagues Pakistan's universities". Nature. 467 (7314): 378–379. doi:10.1038/467378a. PMID 20864966.
  26. ^ "Pakistan vs BRIC countries – scientific influence and citation impact report". ip-science.interest.thomsonreuters.com.
  27. ^ "Dr Atta to receive highest 'International S&T Cooperation Award' of China".
  28. ^ "President of China confers highest Chinese scientific award on Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman – Ministry of Foreign Affairs". 10 January 2020.
  29. ^ Nuclear Magnetic Resonance | SpringerLink.
  30. ^ Atta-Ur-Rahman; Shah, Zahir (1993). Stereoselective Synthesis in Organic Chemistry (PDF). New York. ISBN 978-1-4613-8327-7. OCLC 840282859.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  31. ^ Helmenstine, PhD, Anne Marie. "This Day in Science History – 28 May – Pakistan Goes Nuclear". Anne Marie Helmenstine of the chemistry.com.
  32. ^ "Pakistan officially becomes an associate member of CERN". 31 July 2015.
  33. ^ WIPO (30 November 2023). Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition. World Intellectual Property Organization. doi:10.34667/tind.46596. ISBN 9789280534320. Retrieved 29 October 2023. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  34. ^ "Global Innovation Index 2019". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  35. ^ . INSEAD Knowledge. 28 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  36. ^ "PM okays task force to form tech-driven knowledge economy".
  37. ^ "Pakistan to be shifted towards technology driven knowledge economy: Report". 29 January 2019.
  38. ^ "Cabinet approves task force on science and tech | Pakistan Today".
  39. ^ "Development budget of science & technology ministry increased by 600pc: Fawad". 5 November 2019.
  40. ^ "Paf Iast". Paf Iast. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  41. ^ "Notification of Steering Committee, University of Applied Engineering and Emerging Technologies, Sambrial | Higher Education Department, Government of the Punjab".
  42. ^ Abbasi, Kashif (10 July 2019). "Govt changes master plan of Islamabad to set up university at PM House - Pakistan - DAWN.COM". Dawn.com.
  43. ^ a b c d e Riazuddin (21 November 1998). "Physics in Pakistan". ICTP. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  44. ^ a b Voelter, Wolfgang. "The golden period". Dawn ePaper. The golden period, The Dawn, retrieved 20 March 2010
  45. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  46. ^ a b c d e f MoST, Ministry of Science and Technology. "Ministry of Science and Technology". Government of Pakistan. Directorate for Electronic Government (DEG)and the Directorate for the Scientific and Technological Research Division (STRD).
  47. ^ a b c PAS, Pakistan Academy of Science. "Introduction". PAS Press Directorate. Directorate for the Information and Public Press of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS).
  48. ^ a b c d e Ahmad, Hameed Ahmad (November 2004). "Education, Science and Technology in Developing Countries: Some Thoughts and Recollection: §Higher Education in Pakistan: Current and Future Scenarios" (PDF). COMSATS Journal of Science. 1 (1): 212. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  49. ^ (MH), Ministry of Health (Pakistan). "Ministry of Health". Government of Pakistan and the Ministry of Health of Pakistan. Directorate for the Electronic Government (DEG) and the Directorate for the Health Research and Public Research and Development (HERPURD).
  50. ^ (minfal), Ministry of Food and Agriculture. "Ministry of Agriculture". Electronic Government Directorate and Directorate for the Agriculture Research and Applied Science (ARAS).
  51. ^ (moenv), Ministry of Environment. "Ministry of Environment". Electronic Government Directorate and Directorate for the Environmental Research and Applied Science (ERAS).
  52. ^ a b c Brigadier-General Syed A. I. Tirmazi (1985). Profiles of Intelligence. Combined Printers. Library of Congress Catalogue No. 95-930455.
  53. ^ "Ranking higher education".
  54. ^ a b c d e "Pakistan vs BRIC countries – scientific influence and citation impact report".
  55. ^ "Pakistan-US Science and Technology Cooperation Program". 5 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  56. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Nakandala, Dilupa; Malik, Ammar A. (2015). South Asia. In UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 (PDF). Paris: UNESCO. pp. 567–597. ISBN 978-92-3-100129-1.
  57. ^ Bianco, Armandodoriano (2013). "Natural Product Research special issue dedicated to Professor Atta-ur-Rahman on the occasion of his 70th birthday". Natural Product Research. 27 (4–5): 297. doi:10.1080/14786419.2013.766048. S2CID 96991398.
  58. ^ "Fitoterapia | Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS (70th B'Day)". Science Direct. Elsevier. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  59. ^ "ARKAT USA, Inc. - Browse ARKIVOC - Volume 2007 (Vii)".
  60. ^ Keglevich, Gyorgy (2012). "A tribute to a Living Legend (Special Issue in Honor of the 70th Birthday of Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman)". Current Organic Chemistry. 16 (17): 1949. doi:10.2174/138527212803251631.
  61. ^ "Pakistan's International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences placed under the auspices of UNESCO | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization".
  62. ^ Choudhary, Muhammad Iqbal (2013). "Professor Atta-ur-Rahman: towering scientific achievements". Natural Product Research. 27 (4–5): 298–301. doi:10.1080/14786419.2013.766053. PMID 23473069.
  63. ^ . Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  64. ^ "Index of /".
  65. ^ "Atta-ur-Rahman – Global Knowledge Initiative".
  66. ^ "Chinese research center to be named after Dr Attaur Rahman". 28 May 2019.
  67. ^ R, RAMACHANDRAN (5 October 2012). "You cannot survive unless you work together". Frontline 5 Oct 2012 00:00 IST. The Hindu. from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  68. ^ "'HEC – why India felt threatened – Prof Atta-ur-Rahman". The News International, Pakistan. 3 September 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  69. ^ Information technology in Pakistan
  70. ^ a b Hayward, Fred M. (Winter 2009).Higher Education Transformation in Pakistan: Political & Economic Instability, International Higher Education Quarterly (54), retrieved 20 March 2010
  71. ^ a b Rode, Bernd Michael. Letter from Chairman/European Coordinator of ASEA-UNINET published in DAWN today, DildilpakistanWordpress, retrieved 10 March 2010
  72. ^ Pak threat to Indian science, Hindustan Times, 23 July 2006, retrieved 19 March 2012
  73. ^ Hoodboy, P. (2009). "Pakistan's higher education system: what went wrong and how to fix it". Pakistan Development Review. 48 (4II): 581–594. doi:10.30541/v48i4IIpp.581-594 (inactive 28 March 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of March 2024 (link)
  74. ^ Hayward, Fred (2015). "Higher Education Transformation in Pakistan: Political and Economic Instability". International Higher Education (54). doi:10.6017/ihe.2009.54.8416.
  75. ^ "The golden period - DAWN.COM". 6 December 2008.
  76. ^ Science and the Islamic world—The quest for rapprochement, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Physics Today
  77. ^ [http://ptonline.aip.org/journals/doc/PHTOAD-ft/vol_60/iss_8/captions/49_1table1.shtml 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
  78. ^ https://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/ihe/article/viewFile/8416/7550 [bare URL PDF]
  79. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  80. ^ Osama, Athar; Sha, Sohan Prasad; Wickremasinghe, Seetha I. (2021). South Asia. In: UNESCO Science Report: the Race Against Time for Smarter Development. UNESCO Publishing. pp. 574–603.
  81. ^ "Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB)-National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST)".

External links

  • Pakistan to introduce technology in four Muslim countries 7 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  • Science, Economy and Peace: A study focusing Pakistan

January 01, 1970
science, technology, pakistan, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, lead, section, long, please, read, length, guidelines, help, move, details. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article s lead section may be too long Please read the length guidelines and help move details into the article s body August 2021 The neutrality of this article is disputed Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met August 2021 Learn how and when to remove this message The article s lead section may need to be rewritten Please help improve the lead and read the lead layout guide November 2020 Learn how and when to remove this message This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation June 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message 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 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 1 The emphasis was placed on quality rather than numbers during this period 2 3 4 The quality measures introduced by Prof Atta ur Rahman as Founding Chairman HEC included 1 All Ph D thesis were evaluated by eminent foreign scientists 2 All PhD theses and research papers were checked for plagiarism 3 Some 11 000 students were sent abroad to leading universities for PhD level training and absorbed on their return 4 Appointments at faculty positions were linked to international stature of the applicants as judged from their international publications patents and citations and 5 Quality Enhancement Cells were established in all universities for the first time in the history of the country 5 6 The minimum criteria for establishment of a new university were approved by the Cabinet and universities that did not meet these criteria were closed down 6 7 The Model University Ordinance was approved Appendix 3 in the reference setting the governance parameters for new universities 7 8 A list of fake higher education institutions was prepared and made public 8 9 Quality Assurance Agency QAA was set up within the Higher Education Commission that established Quality Enhancement Cells QECs as its operational units in public and private sector universities across the country 9 10 The funding of universities was linked to excellence in teaching and research under a formula based funding mechanism that considered enrolment subjects and quality of teaching and research 10 The first IT policy and implementation strategy was approved under the leadership of Prof Atta ur Rahman then Federal Minister of Science amp technology in August 2000 which laid the foundations of the development of this sector 11 On the request of Prof Atta ur Rahman Intel initiated a nationwide 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 12 A 15 year tax holiday was approved on the recommendation of Prof Atta ur Rahman which has resulted in growth of IT business from 30 million in 2001 to over 3 billion 13 14 The Pakistan Austria University of Applied Engineering Fachhochschule has been established in Haripur Hazara under a Steering Committee Chaired by Prof Atta ur Rahman in which students will get degrees from several Austrian universities 15 Pakistan s growth in scientific output can be seen from the fact that in 1990 Pakistan published 926 scholarly documents while in 2018 the number rose to 20548 a twenty times increase In contrast India published 21443 scholarly documents in 1990 and the number rose to 171356 in 2018 an eight times increase 16 In 2018 336 people per million were researchers in the R amp D Research and Development sector in Pakistan compared to 256 people per million being researchers in India 17 The reforms begun by Prof Atta ur Rahman FRS in 2003 2008 have continued over the subsequent decade and according to the Web of Science report there was a 300 growth in research publications in 2019 over the decade with 2019 marking the first year in which Pakistan was ranked above the world average in research In 2019 Pakistan produced 300 more publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection than in 2010 In the decade of 2010 2019 more than half of Pakistan s research was published in journals with Impact Factor The global influence of Pakistan s research is increasing as scientists in the country are publishing more in top quartile journals The Category Normalized Citation Impact of Pakistan s publications which measures publications impact against their peers worldwide has risen from 0 67 to 1 03 output 18 As of 2020 Pakistan has 85 teledensity with 183 million cellular 98 million 3G 4G and 101 million broadband subscribers due to the foundations laid by Prof Atta ur Rahman of the IT and telecom industry during 2000 2008 19 In an analysis of scientific research productivity of Pakistan in comparison to Brazil Russia India and China Thomson Reuters has applauded the developments that have taken place as a result of the reforms introduced by Prof Atta ur Rahman FRS since Pakistan has emerged as the country with the highest increase in the percentage of highly cited papers in comparison to the BRIC countries 20 Abdus Salam was the world s second scientist from a Muslim country to win a Nobel Prize Prof Atta ur Rahman is first scientist from the Muslim World to be elected Fellow of Royal Society London in recognition of researches conducted within an Islamic country Prof Wolfgang Voelter eminent German scientist with building established at International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences Karachi University in his honour HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry Chemistry 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 21 22 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 amp Technology and former founding Chairman of the Higher Education Commission 23 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 24 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 25 In an analysis of scientific research productivity of Pakistan in comparison to Brazil Russia India and China Thomson Reuters has applauded the developments that have taken place as a result of the reforms introduced by Prof Atta ur Rahman FRS since Pakistan has emerged as the country with the highest increase in the percentage of highly cited papers in comparison to the BRIC countries 26 In recognition of building strong bridges between science in Pakistan and China Prof Atta ur Rahman FRS received the highest national award of China the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award 27 28 His book on NMR spectroscopy published by Springer Verlag was translated into Japanese language and used for teaching courses on NMR spectroscopy in Japan 29 His book entitled Stereoselective Synthesis in Organic Chemistry published by Springer Verlag was described as a monumental tome by the Nobel Laureate Sir Derek Barton who wrote the Foreword to this book 30 Technology is highly developed in nuclear physics and explosives engineering where the arms race with India convinced policymakers 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 31 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 32 Pakistan was ranked 88th in the Global Innovation Index in 2023 up from 107th in 2020 33 34 35 During 2018 2019 the Government of Pakistan has formed a number of Task Forces to strengthen science and technology information technology and knowledge economy The task force formed in 2018 on Technology Driven Knowledge Economy is chaired by the Prime Minister Mr Imran Khan and has Atta ur Rahman as its Vice Chairman 36 The group has several important Federal Ministers as members including Ministers of Finance Planning Education IT Telecom Science amp Technology and chairman Higher Education Commission The task force aims to promote research in important and emerging technology fields 37 Another important task force of the Prime Minister is that on science amp technology with Atta ur Rahman as its chairman 38 As a result of the efforts of these Task Forces under the leadership of Prof Atta ur Rahman FRS a huge change has occurred in the Ministry of Science and Technology and the development budget of the Federal Ministry of Science and technology has been enhanced by over 600 due to the projects initiated by these Task Forces allowing a large number of new important initiatives in the fields of materials engineering genomics industrial biotechnology alternative energy minerals regenerative medicine neuroscience and artificial intelligence to be undertaken 39 Pakistan s first foreign engineering university Pak Austria Fachhochschule is a unique hybrid model involving a Fachhochschule half and a postgraduate research half with a central technology park With 8 foreign universities collaborating 3 Austrian and 5 Chinese it has also started functioning under the supervision of a steering committee headed by Atta ur Rahman 40 in Haripur Hazara A number of such foreign engineering universities are in the process of being established under the supervision of Prof Atta ur Rahman FRS These include one in Sialkot the foundation stone of which has already been laid by the Prime Minister of Pakistan 41 and another in the lands behind Prime Minister House Islamabad 42 Contents 1 History 1 1 Golden age of science 2 State controlled science 3 Science policy 3 1 National Science Technology and Innovation Policy 3 2 National Science Technology and Innovation Strategy 4 National prizes 5 Achievements 6 Information technology 7 Higher education reforms 7 1 Reform 2002 2009 7 1 1 International praise Pakistan s Golden Period for Higher Education 7 2 Decentralizing the governance of higher education 7 3 Effect of reforms on student numbers and academic output 8 Challenges 9 Scientific research institutions SRI 10 Science community of Pakistan 11 See also 12 Sources 13 Further reading 14 References 15 External linksHistoryMain articles History of science and technology in Pakistan and History of science and technology in the Indian subcontinent The Scientific and Technological Research Division S amp 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 the National Science Council the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research the Atomic Energy Commission and Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Committee The Ministry of Science and Technology MoS amp 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 amp 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 the strengthening of technology institutions effective governance of S amp TR and enhancing the capacity of indigenous innovation systems 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 43 During this period scientists contributed to the fields of particularly Natural Product Chemistry theoretical particle mathematical and nuclear physics and other major and subfields of Chemistry and Physics 43 The research was preceded by such scientists 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 nbsp Prof Atta ur Rahman FRS receiving UNESCO Science Prize at World Congress on Science in Budapest Hungary 1999 nbsp Prof Dr Atta ur Rahman being awarded Fellowship of Royal Society London by Prof Sir Martin Reese President of Royal Society 14th July 2006 nbsp Atta ur Rahman Institute of Natural Product Discovery established in Malaysia s largest university Universiti Teknologi Mara near Kuala Lumpur The real growth of science in Pakistan occurred under the leadership of Prof Atta ur Rahman during 2000 2008 when he was the Federal Minister of Science amp 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 44 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 45 The remarkable transformation of science and higher education under the leadership of Prof Atta ur Rahman as Federal Minister of Science amp 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 Nature 25 Dr Abdus Salam the first Pakistani winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics was the father of physics research in Pakistan 43 Under the watchful direction of Salam mathematicians and physicists tackled the greatest and outstanding problems in physics and mathematics 43 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 43 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 Rauvolfia periwinkle Catharanthus roseus Buxus papillosa and various other plants State controlled scienceUnlike 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 46 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 46 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 47 The Pakistan Academy of Sciences has a large percentage of researchers in the natural sciences particularly physics 47 From 1947 to 1971 the research was being conducted independently with no government influence 47 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 48 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 48 However after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became president he took control of scientific research in 1972 as part of his intensified socialist reforms and policies 48 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 46 48 During the 1950s and 1960s both West Pakistan and East Pakistan had their own academies of science with East Pakistan relying on West Pakistan to allot the funds 46 Medical research is coordinated and funded by the Health Ministry 49 and agricultural research is led by Agriculture Ministry 50 and likewise the research on environmental sciences is headed by the Environment Ministry 48 51 The 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 52 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 52 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 52 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 as the founding Chairman of the Higher Education Commission when about 11 000 students were sent to top universities abroad for Ph D and postdoctoral training This has resulted in the enormous increase in the research output of Pakistan in Impact factor journals from about 800 per year in the year 2000 to over 12 000 publications per year 53 This drew positive comments from Thomson Reuters about the sharp increase in highly cited papers in comparison to Brazil Russia India and China 54 Major research was undertaken by Pakistan s institutes in the field of natural sciences 46 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 55 However with unfavourable situations clarification needed research declined In 2011 the government dissolved the HEC and the control of education was taken over by governmental ministries 46 Prof Atta ur Rahman 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 23 Science policyNational Science Technology and Innovation Policy The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology has overseen the S amp 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 amp D 56 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 56 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 56 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 amp 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 56 National prizesThe 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 Pride of Performance Sitara i Imtiaz and Tamgha e Imtiaz occupies a unique role and importance in Pakistan s civil society Atta ur Rahman is the only scientist of Pakistan to have won all these 4 Civil Awards Achievements nbsp Academician Dr Atta ur Rahman Research Center Inaugurated at Hunan University of Chinese Medicine with Mr Fawad Choudhary Minister of Science of Pakistan as Guest of Honour In 1961 international achievements first recorded in 1961 when Pakistan became the third clarification needed Asian country and tenth clarification needed in the world when the Rehbar I a solid fuel expendable 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 a 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 May 1998 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 nbsp Prof Atta ur Rahman Laboratories at International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences University of Karachi UNESCO Center of Excellence 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 24 He has major contributions in the development of natural product chemistry and several international journals have published special issue in recognition of these contributions in his honour 57 58 59 60 He contributed to the major 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 54 The International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences at the University of Karachi which has developed as a leading research centre in the region under the leadership of Prof Atta ur Rahman was designated as a UNESCO Centre of Excellence in 2016 61 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 62 and the Government of China also honoured him with the highest Award for Foreigners Friendship Award in recognition of his eminent contributions 63 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 64 65 More recently the leading Chinese University on Traditional Medicine in Changsha Hunan has also decided to name a research institute in honour of Prof Atta ur Rahman FRS in recognition of his eminent contributions to uplift science in Pakistan and to establish strong linkages with China 66 In another landmark study undertaken by Thomson Reuters highlighting the impact of the reforms introduced by Atta ur Rahman 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 54 In reply to C N R Rao Professor Atta ur Rahman wrote recently The Indian government need not be worried We Pakistanis alas know how to destroy our own institutions 67 Information technologyMain article Information technology in Pakistan The rapid progress made by Pakistan in the IT and telecom sector during 2000 2002 under Professor Atta ur Rahman 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 then Federal Minister of Science amp technology in August 2000 which laid the foundations of the development of this sector 11 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 68 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 69 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 citation needed 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 clarification needed 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 US 48 5 million 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 citation needed Higher education reformsReform 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 56 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 meet international standards 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 Pakistan s Golden Period for Higher Education 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 Tubingen 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 citation needed 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 44 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 70 Hayward pointed out that over the last six years almost 4 000 scholars have participated in Ph D programs in Pakistan in which more than 600 students have studied in foreign PhD programs 70 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 71 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 71 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 nature 25 Rahman 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 72 Decentralizing the governance of higher education In 2011 2012 the HEC found itself on the brink of dissolution in 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 Prof Atta ur Rahman FRS former Chairman HEC filed a petition before the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Supreme Court intervened in April 2011 that the commission was spared from being divided up among the four Provinces of Baluchistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Punjab and Sindh 56 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 56 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 56 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 56 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 and to over 20 000 by 2020 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 56 73 However this claim has been refuted by neutral international experts 74 75 Challenges nbsp Pak India Comparison of Research publications per 10 million population for period 2000 2018 Pakistan green India blue Pakistan overtook India in 2017 due to reforms introduced by Prof Atta ur Rahman FRS Pakistan has been known for some of its 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 contributing to Pakistan s 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 citation needed Pervez Hoodbhoy published a report on scientific output in Pakistan in which he claimed that research and scientific activities are lower than many other developing countries 76 Hoodbhoy asserted that Pakistan has produced fewer papers than neighboring India 77 The contentions of Hoodbhoy have been questioned for using outdated data citation needed The increase in research output from Pakistan has been praised after the establishment of the Higher Education Commission in 2002 54 78 79 This is borne out by the graphical comparison between Pakistan and India shown on the right which shows that Pakistan green was 400 behind India blue in research publications per 10 million population in year 2000 but overtook India in 2017 and by 2018 it was about 20 ahead of India according to Web of Science data 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 54 Pakistan s public sector infrastructure for science and technology is complemented by academic institutions and the strategic and defence sectors Over the years these three components have vied for political patronage and societal recognition leading to duplication and competition between the different bodies 80 Scientific research institutions SRI See also List of research institutes in Pakistan nbsp HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry University of Karachi is integral part of Internarional Center for Chemical and Biological sciences the regional UNESCO Center of Excellence nbsp Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research University of Karachi is integral part of Internarional Center for Chemical and Biological sciences the regional UNESCO Center of Excellence nbsp National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Faisalabad Pakistan 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 School of Biological Sciences Punjab University 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 81 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 DivisionScience community of PakistanNUST Science Society Pakistan Mathematical Society Pakistan Agricultural Research Council Pakistan Academy of Sciences Pakistan Institute of Physics Pakistan Astrophysicist Society Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Pakistan 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 amp Caving Federation citation needed 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 amp Technology Abbottabad Royal Institute of Science amp Technology Karachi Gandhara Institute of Science amp Technology Sukkur Institute of Science amp Technology Bright Institute of Science and technology Peshawar Pakistan Advanced Institute of Science and TechnologySee also nbsp Science portal nbsp Technology portal nbsp Pakistan portal List of Pakistani inventions and discoveries List of Pakistani scientists Economy of Pakistan Nergis MavalvalaSources nbsp This article incorporates text from a free content work Licensed under CC BY SA IGO 3 0 Text taken from UNESCO Science Report towards 2030 UNESCO UNESCO Publishing nbsp This article incorporates text from a free content work Licensed under CC BY SA 3 0 IGO license statement permission Text taken from UNESCO Science Report the Race Against Time for Smarter Development 574 603 UNESCO Publishing Further reading Rank of Pakistan in Technology Amazing Facts And Figures 2021 Protechrise References Home Fix the HEC The HEC in a mess Higher quality Higher Education Reform in Pakistan December 2007 https hec gov pk english services universities Documents 887 HEC2 Criteria of university institutions pdf bare URL PDF https www hec gov pk english services universities Documents 887 HEC2 Criteria of university institutions pdf bare URL PDF Illegal Fake Universities amp Campuses Quality Assurance Agency https www hec gov pk english services universities FP Documents Funding policy HEIs pdf bare URL PDF a b Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 3 February 2018 Retrieved 3 February 2018 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link INTEL ICT Programs in Pakistan 21 January 2010 Pakistan at a crossroads Science and Technology in Pakistan The Way Forward 13 September 2002 Paf Iast Scimago Journal and country rank Scimago institutions ranking Researchers in R amp D per million people The world bank Web of Science Group Pakistani startups raise 85 million in 2021 with rush of foreign capital in fintechs 13 June 2021 Pakistan Another Bric in the Wall Archived from the original on 20 September 2016 Retrieved 23 July 2017 International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences Higher Education Past Present and Future 10 February 2016 a b 18th Amendment implementation Supreme Court comes to HEC s rescue 13 April 2011 a b Atta Ur Rahman Royal Society a b c Brumfiel Geoff Inman Mason 2010 Boom and bust plagues Pakistan s universities Nature 467 7314 378 379 doi 10 1038 467378a PMID 20864966 Pakistan vs BRIC countries scientific influence and citation impact report ip science interest thomsonreuters com Dr Atta to receive highest International S amp T Cooperation Award of China President of China confers highest Chinese scientific award on Prof Atta ur Rahman Ministry of Foreign Affairs 10 January 2020 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance SpringerLink Atta Ur Rahman Shah Zahir 1993 Stereoselective Synthesis in Organic Chemistry PDF New York ISBN 978 1 4613 8327 7 OCLC 840282859 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Helmenstine PhD Anne Marie This Day in Science History 28 May Pakistan Goes Nuclear Anne Marie Helmenstine of the chemistry com Pakistan officially becomes an associate member of CERN 31 July 2015 WIPO 30 November 2023 Global Innovation Index 2023 15th Edition World Intellectual Property Organization doi 10 34667 tind 46596 ISBN 9789280534320 Retrieved 29 October 2023 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a website ignored help Global Innovation Index 2019 www wipo int Retrieved 2 September 2021 Global Innovation Index INSEAD Knowledge 28 October 2013 Archived from the original on 2 September 2021 Retrieved 2 September 2021 PM okays task force to form tech driven knowledge economy Pakistan to be shifted towards technology driven knowledge economy Report 29 January 2019 Cabinet approves task force on science and tech Pakistan Today Development budget of science amp technology ministry increased by 600pc Fawad 5 November 2019 Paf Iast Paf Iast Retrieved 25 August 2022 Notification of Steering Committee University of Applied Engineering and Emerging Technologies Sambrial Higher Education Department Government of the Punjab Abbasi Kashif 10 July 2019 Govt changes master plan of Islamabad to set up university at PM House Pakistan DAWN COM Dawn com a b c d e Riazuddin 21 November 1998 Physics in Pakistan ICTP Retrieved 5 May 2020 a b Voelter Wolfgang The golden period Dawn ePaper The golden period The Dawn retrieved 20 March 2010 Eloqua Error Information PDF Archived from the original PDF on 24 October 2019 Retrieved 25 June 2017 a b c d e f MoST Ministry of Science and Technology Ministry of Science and Technology Government of Pakistan Directorate for Electronic Government DEG and the Directorate for the Scientific and Technological Research Division STRD a b c PAS Pakistan Academy of Science Introduction PAS Press Directorate Directorate for the Information and Public Press of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences PAS a b c d e Ahmad Hameed Ahmad November 2004 Education Science and Technology in Developing Countries Some Thoughts and Recollection Higher Education in Pakistan Current and Future Scenarios PDF COMSATS Journal of Science 1 1 212 Retrieved 5 May 2020 MH Ministry of Health Pakistan Ministry of Health Government of Pakistan and the Ministry of Health of Pakistan Directorate for the Electronic Government DEG and the Directorate for the Health Research and Public Research and Development HERPURD minfal Ministry of Food and Agriculture Ministry of Agriculture Electronic Government Directorate and Directorate for the Agriculture Research and Applied Science ARAS moenv Ministry of Environment Ministry of Environment Electronic Government Directorate and Directorate for the Environmental Research and Applied Science ERAS a b c Brigadier General Syed A I Tirmazi 1985 Profiles of Intelligence Combined Printers Library of Congress Catalogue No 95 930455 Ranking higher education a b c d e Pakistan vs BRIC countries scientific influence and citation impact report Pakistan US Science and Technology Cooperation Program 5 January 2015 Retrieved 14 January 2015 a b c d e f g h i j Nakandala Dilupa Malik Ammar A 2015 South Asia In UNESCO Science Report towards 2030 PDF Paris UNESCO pp 567 597 ISBN 978 92 3 100129 1 Bianco Armandodoriano 2013 Natural Product Research special issue dedicated to Professor Atta ur Rahman on the occasion of his 70th birthday Natural Product Research 27 4 5 297 doi 10 1080 14786419 2013 766048 S2CID 96991398 Fitoterapia Prof Atta ur Rahman FRS 70th B Day Science Direct Elsevier Retrieved 25 August 2022 ARKAT USA Inc Browse ARKIVOC Volume 2007 Vii Keglevich Gyorgy 2012 A tribute to a Living Legend Special Issue in Honor of the 70th Birthday of Dr Atta ur Rahman Current Organic Chemistry 16 17 1949 doi 10 2174 138527212803251631 Pakistan s International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences placed under the auspices of UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization Choudhary Muhammad Iqbal 2013 Professor Atta ur Rahman towering scientific achievements Natural Product Research 27 4 5 298 301 doi 10 1080 14786419 2013 766053 PMID 23473069 China s highest national award for Prof Atta ur Rahman the Good Times Unique PakistanThe Good Times Unique Pakistan Archived from the original on 20 August 2017 Retrieved 20 August 2017 Index of Atta ur Rahman Global Knowledge Initiative Chinese research center to be named after Dr Attaur Rahman 28 May 2019 R RAMACHANDRAN 5 October 2012 You cannot survive unless you work together Frontline 5 Oct 2012 00 00 IST The Hindu Archived from the original on 9 March 2021 Retrieved 5 October 2012 HEC why India felt threatened Prof Atta ur Rahman The News International Pakistan 3 September 2011 Retrieved 14 January 2015 Information technology in Pakistan a b Hayward Fred M Winter 2009 Higher Education Transformation in Pakistan Political amp Economic Instability International Higher Education Quarterly 54 retrieved 20 March 2010 a b Rode Bernd Michael Letter from Chairman European Coordinator of ASEA UNINET published in DAWN today DildilpakistanWordpress retrieved 10 March 2010 Pak threat to Indian science Hindustan Times 23 July 2006 retrieved 19 March 2012 Hoodboy P 2009 Pakistan s higher education system what went wrong and how to fix it Pakistan Development Review 48 4II 581 594 doi 10 30541 v48i4IIpp 581 594 inactive 28 March 2024 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint DOI inactive as of March 2024 link Hayward Fred 2015 Higher Education Transformation in Pakistan Political and Economic Instability International Higher Education 54 doi 10 6017 ihe 2009 54 8416 The golden period DAWN COM 6 December 2008 Science and the Islamic world The quest for rapprochement Pervez Hoodbhoy Physics Today http ptonline aip org journals doc PHTOAD ft vol 60 iss 8 captions 49 1table1 shtml 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 https ejournals bc edu ojs index php ihe article viewFile 8416 7550 bare URL PDF Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 27 June 2015 Retrieved 23 July 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Osama Athar Sha Sohan Prasad Wickremasinghe Seetha I 2021 South Asia In UNESCO Science Report the Race Against Time for Smarter Development UNESCO Publishing pp 574 603 Atta ur Rahman School of Applied Biosciences ASAB National University of Sciences and Technology NUST External linksPakistan to introduce technology in four Muslim countries Archived 7 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine Science Economy and Peace A study focusing Pakistan Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Science and technology in Pakistan amp oldid 1216056029, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.