Pakistan piggybacks on China to send astronauts to space, signalling Suparco's fall

As Pakistan relies on China to send its astronauts to space, here’s a look at how, in search of gold, Pakistan forgot to nourish a diamond they had - Suparco PM Shehbaz Sharif witnesses the exchange of agreements between officials from Suparco and CMSA, the Chinese space agency, on Friday. X On Thursday, Pakistan’s Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission announced an accord with China, which would facilitate Islamabad’s first manned mission to space. While speaking to Firstpost last year, Pakistani scientist and author Prof. Pervez Hoodbhoy emphasised that before Pakistan’s then-PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto announced that Ahmadis would not be considered Muslims, Salam was the “most important person in Pakistan” in regards to the development of science and technology in the country. While India and Pakistan were racing to develop nuclear weapons, Pakistan’s then-PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said, “We will eat grass, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own … We have no other choice!” In his book titled “The Idea of Pakistan,” Stephen Cohen also mentioned that the Pakistani generals took leadership in Suparco, relegating the scientists to the side.