Prominent Botanist and Former Vice Chancellor of Karachi University Professor Emeritus Dr Syed Irtafaq Ali Departs
By Dr A. Khan
Chicago, IL
Prominent botanist and former Vice Chancellor of Karachi University (1990-94) Professor Emeritus Dr Syed Irtafaq Ali passed away on Thursday, February 18, 2021, after a brief illness in Karachi. He was buried in the University of Karachi Graveyard on Friday.
Syed Irtafaq Ali was born on September 14, 1930, in Lucknow, UP, British India. He passed his matric exam (1946) in Allahabad and received his BSc (1950) and MSc (Botany, 1952) degrees from Allahabad University. Soon after, he migrated to Pakistan. He completed his PhD (Botany, 1958) and DSc (1979) from the University of London, UK. He joined the Department of Botany, University of Karachi, as lecturer, on December 13, 1958, and later progressed to serve as its chairman. Dr Ali also served as a professor of botany at University of Tripoli, Libya (1972-1976). He started and co-edited Flora of Libya.
Dr Ali served the University of Karachi for more than 56 years in various capacities. He also served as the Director General of Dr A.Q. Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering and as Dean of Science Faculty (1981 to 1990). The distinguished professor then served as the Vice Chancellor of University of Karachi (1990-94). He continued to work at the Plant Conservation Centre, University of Karachi, until his passing away.
He also served as the editor of the Flora of Pakistan comprising 224 volumes, in collaboration with Prof Dr Nasir in the beginning, and later with Professor Dr Muhammad Qaiser for more than 40 years. For his research and academic contributions Dr Ali was awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 1988; bestowed the title of National Distinguished Professor (2004) by the Higher Education Commission, and was honored with Professor Emeritus status in 2011.
Dr Ali published a plethora of research work at national and international levels. His biographical profile at the University of Karachi website summarizes his research work: “ He is an internationally renowned top ranking systematic botanist. He is the author of three books and more than 136 research papers, published in well-known national and international journals. The magnum opus of Professor Ali is the Flora of Pakistan that he has edited along with E. Nasir, J. Nasir & M. Qaiser for the last 38 years. This work is devoted to the evaluation and categorization of the plant wealth of Pakistan. It is a source book of basic information about the plant genetic resources of the country. Thus, it provides fundamental information for the preservation and systematic utilization of the plant wealth of Pakistan. This painstaking work of Professor Ali and his associates contains an account of 215 families based on the description of 1384 genera and 4,758 species of plants of Pakistan spread over 6,815 pages. Nowadays he is performing his duties as National Distinguished Professor under the auspices of Higher Education Commission.”
Dr Ali was a humble, polite, and compassionate person. He is survived by his wife and three daughters. May Allah SWT bless his soul and assign him a distinguished station in Janet-ul-Firdous for his services to academia and Pakistan. Ameen!
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