Ghulam Ahmad (engineer)

Ghulam Ahmad
Born	23 May 1923 Poonch, Poonch district, Kashmir and Jammu, British India
Died	20 September 2003(2003-09-20) (aged 80) New Jersey, United States
Residence	Rawalakot, Pakistani Azad Kashmir.
Citizenship	Pakistan
Nationality	Pakistani
Fields	Engineer
Institutions	Pakistan Forest Service (PFS) Colorado Department of Military Affairs (DMA) Pakistan Chrome Mines Ltd (PCM) Military Engineering Service (MES)
Known for	Environmental Sciences
Spouse	Jamila Begum

Shaikh Ghulam Ahmad (b. Poonch, 23 May 1923 – d. New Jersey, 20 September 2003) was a Pakistani forestry official^[1] and later managing director^[2] and Chairman of Pakistan Chrome Mines Ltd, the largest and oldest chrome mining company in Pakistan.^[3]

In World War II he served in the Royal Indian Air Force as an Engineer Officer, fighter pilot and military engineer.

He also wrote Unique and Everliving, a biography of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. The book was written over a period of five years. The book is published by Ferozeson's Ltd., a book publisher in Pakistan.^[4][5]

Life and education

He was born in the city of Poonch, in Poonch District of Kashmir, on 23 May 1923. He was educated there at a school where his father, Shaikh Ghulam Rasul, was the headmaster. He migrated to Pakistan along with his family, during the independence of Pakistan in 1947. He married Jamila Begum at Rehara, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan on 11 May 1949. He had three sons and two daughters,

He received a B.Sc (honours) degree in Physics and a Masters in Statistics from the University of Punjab in Lahore. He received a Postgraduate Diploma in Natural Resource Development ITC, Delft, Netherlands.

Career

Ghulam Ahmad Royal Indian Air Force

He joined the Royal Indian Air Force as a Fighter Pilot in the No. 1 Squadron, Indian Air Force. He fought against the Japanese Imperial Army in Burma during World War II, flying in a Hawker Hurricane fighter plane.

He was selected for the Forest Service after World War II and trained at the Forest Research Institute at Dehradun, India. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947 he joined the Pakistan Forest Service, becoming the Chief Conservator of Forests and Director of the Aerial Survey Project in Peshawar, Pakistan, where he surveyed the North-West Frontier Province for a Natural Resources Survey from 1965-1969. He introduced hybrid poplars in Pakistan, including Azad Kashmir, and especially Rawalakot, changing the living conditions of the rural population.

He supervised an aerial survey of the Indus River Basin for the development of natural resources. He emigrated to the United States in August 1971 to complete a PhD in Civil Engineering at Colorado State University, and joined the Colorado Department of Military Affairs, where he helped to draft the Emergency Response Plan for the State of Colorado. From 1983 until 1999 he was the Managing Director of Pakistan Chrome Mines Ltd.

References