Prof Iqbal Choudhary appointed COMSTECH Coordinator-General

KARACHI: The President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, in his capacity as Chairman COMSTECH, has appointed Prof Dr Iqbal Choudhary as the Coordinator-General of COMSTECH (the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation).

A press statement issued by the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, said that Prof Iqbal Choudhary was the second from the International Center who had been appointed as COMSTECH Coordinator-General.

Earlier, Prof Atta-ur-Rahman, ICCBS Patron-in-Chief, and Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Science and Technology also served COMSTECH in the same position.

It is pertinent to mention here that COMSTECH, the Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation), was established by the Third Islamic Summit of OIC held at Makkah, Saudi Arabia in January 1981. The President of Pakistan is the Chairman of COMSTECH.

The core mandate of COMSTECH is to strengthen cooperation among the OIC Member States in science and technology and to increase the capability of the Muslim countries in science and technology.

Prof Choudhary, who is currently serving as ICCBS director, has 1355 publications in the fields of organic and bioorganic chemistry, including 67 international/ US patents, and 73 books, and 40 chapters in books, published by major US and European publishers. Currently, his h-index is 68 and has 27,394 citations. As many as 94 students have completed their PhD degrees under his supervision.

Prof Choudhary is one of the most decorated scientists of Pakistan who has been conferred not only with the highest civilian awards of Pakistan, including Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, Sitara-i-Imtiaz, and Hilal-i-Imtiaz but international awards as well. He is also a member of the National Commission for Science and Technology, chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Vice-Chancellor, University of Karachi, Prof Dr Khalid Mehmood Iraqi, and Prof Atta-ur-Rahman congratulated him and declared his outstanding achievements as an honor not only for the University but for the whole nation.

-MN Report