MAHMOOD SULTAN BASHIR-UD-DIN

QDi.055
MAHMOOD SULTAN BASHIR-UD-DIN
Date on which the narrative summary became available on the Committee's website: 
7 September 2010
Date(s) on which the narrative summary was updated: 
3 February 2015
14 November 2023
Reason for listing: 

Mahmood Sultan Bashir-Ud-Din was listed on 24 December 2001 pursuant to paragraph 8 (c) of resolution 1333 (2000) as being associated with Al-Qaida  (QDe.004), Usama bin Laden (deceased) or the Taliban for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf, or in support of”, “supplying, selling or transferring arms and related materiel to” or “otherwise supporting acts or activities of” Usama bin Laden, Al-Qaida (QDe.004) and the Taliban.

Additional information: 

Mahmood Sultan Bashir-Ud-Din is a nuclear scientist who founded and served as a director of Ummah Tameer e-Nau (UTN) (QDe.068). Other directors of UTN included Majeed Abdul Chaudhry (QDi.054) and Mohammed Tufail (QDi.056).

UTN provided Usama bin Laden (deceased) and the Taliban with information about chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. During UTN visits to Afghanistan, Bashir-Ud-Din met Bin Laden and Al-Qaida (QDe.004) leaders and discussed nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. During 2001, Bashir-Ud-Din also met Mullah Omar, listed as Mohammed Omar Ghulam Nabi (TAi.004, on the 1988 Sanctions List). During a follow-up meeting, an associate of Usama bin Laden indicated that he had nuclear material and wanted to know how to use it to make a weapon. Bashir-Ud-Din provided information about the infrastructure needed for a nuclear weapons program and the effects of nuclear weapons.

In November 2001, the Taliban left Kabul and the workers at UTN's Kabul offices fled the area with them. Searches of UTN locations in Kabul yielded documents setting out a plan to kidnap a U.S. attaché and outlining basic nuclear physics related to nuclear weapons.

Bashir-Ud-Din also provided financial support to the Taliban. He reportedly established UTN to rebuild Afghanistan's infrastructure and raise money to develop the Taliban-held areas of Afghanistan.