ISLAMABAD, Oct 14: The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) held a condolence reference at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, to pay tribute to its founding chairman, late Dr Amir Muhammed, Hilal-i-Imtiaz, a distinguished scientist and institution builder.
In recognition of his outstanding services to agricultural research and national development, the Crop Sciences Institute at NARC has been renamed as the Dr Amir Muhammed Institute of Crop Sciences.
PARC Chairman Dr Syed Murtaza Hassan Andrabi paid tribute to Dr Amir Muhammed’s visionary leadership and pioneering role in strengthening Pakistan’s agricultural research system. He said Dr Amir Muhammed’s vision and leadership laid the foundations for PARC as the country’s apex agricultural research organisation and helped establish institutions that continue to contribute to scientific progress and national development.
Dr Andrabi said renaming the Crop Sciences Institute in his honour was a fitting tribute to his services and a recognition of his enduring legacy, which would continue to inspire future generations of scientists and researchers.
Dr Amir Muhammed also served as the founding director of the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Faisalabad, vice chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, and founding rector of the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (FAST).
His tenure as PARC chairman from 1978 to 1990 laid the foundations for a coordinated national agricultural research system.
The condolence reference was attended by his daughters and other family members, serving and retired PARC scientists, and representatives of other research institutions. Speakers highlighted his remarkable scientific achievements, visionary leadership and lasting contributions to Pakistan’s research and higher education sectors.
