Muhammad Hafeez Qureshi (Urdu: محمد حفيظ قريشى; ) (28 January 1930 – 11 August 2007), SI, HI, known as Hafeez Qureshi, was a Pakistani nuclear scientist and a mechanical engineer, known for his classified work at WGS at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). He was a director of PAEC's secretive divisions charged with testing nuclear weapons, he oversaw the work on weapon systems manufacturing and gained expertise on engineering applications of nuclear physics and applied mechanics. However, he is more noted for spearheading Pakistan's quest for nuclear capability. Biography Early life and education Muhammad Hafeez Qureshi was born in Kapurthala, Punjab to a Punjabi Muslim family in 1930. His family emigrated to Pakistan after the Partition of India in 1947; only to settle in Karachi, Sindh. Upon matriculating from a local high school, Qureshi enrolled at Karachi University in 1956; he partly supported his studies by working as a motor mechanic. In his dormitory at the university, his schoolmate and friend was a future notable optical physicist Dr. Muhammad Jameel— who was also present when Pakistan tested its nuclear devices in Ras Koh Hills. He attained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in physics and earned a scholarship to resume his studies at Michigan State University (MSU) in the United States. At MSU, Qureshi enrolled in the engineering department and gained a Bachelor of Science (BS) in mechanical engineering, followed by a Master of Science (MS), in mechanical engineering His mechanical engineering thesis contained work on applications of the mechanics of materials. In 1960, he was admitted into the doctoral program in mechanical engineering at MSU, but left his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) studies for unknown reasons. After returning to Pakistan in 1960, Qureshi joined Karachi Mechanical Laboratories (KML) and was given charge of the Mechanical Engineering Department (MED). Shortly, he left KML and through Muhammad Jameel, Qureshi joined Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) in 1963, where he joined the physics staff led by Dr. Naeem Ahmad Khan. Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission After joining the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Qureshi joined the senior staff at the Atomic Energy Center located in Lahore in 1963, where he worked in the mechanical shop at the center. Qureshi supervised the installation of the experimental facility for particle physics research– a neutron generator. In 1965, Qureshi moved to Nilore to join Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH) where he was part