Former KU VC Prof Irtafaq Ali passes away

Former University of Karachi (KC) vice chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Syed Irtafaq Ali passed away on Thursday at the age of 69. His funeral prayers were offered on Friday and he was buried at the KU graveyard.

He is survived by a widow and three daughters. Prof Ali was the 10th VC of KU. He remained the VC for four years from July 8, 1990 till July 6, 1994. A renowned botanist, he was considered an authority on the plants of south-east Asia in general and Pakistan in particular.

The distinguished professor also served the Dr AQ Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering as its director general. He was also the editor of the Flora of Pakistan comprising 224 volumes. He edited the Flora of Pakistan with Prof Dr Nasir in the beginning and afterwards with Prof Dr Muhammad Qaiser for more than 40 years. Ali joined the KU on December 13, 1958 as a lecturer in the botany department. He was born on September 14, 1930, in Lucknow. He completed his PhD in botany in 1958 and DSc in 1979 from the University of London.