KARACHI: Seasoned horticulturist Abdul Karim Khan, popularly known as A.K. Khan, passed away in his home on Sunday afternoon. He was 96.

With an illustrious career spanned over 70 years, A.K. Khan was inarguably a pioneer of horticultural and landscape activities in Pakistan; the list of his services to the country and the city is long. 

Mr Khan founded the Horticultural Society of Pakistan in 1948 and in 1964, he set up the Ladies Horticultural Club to increase participation of women in the field of horticulture.

As the director of parks and recreation of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, he designed and developed hundreds of parks and gardens in the city. He initiated the annual Pakistan flower, fruit and vegetable shows. 

Mr Khan represented Pakistan at various international forums and was among the first few to write on environment, nature and gardening. His books include The Gardener, The Vegetables, The Fruits and The Plants’ Scientific and Local Names. 

His book Plants, Garden and The Quran is available in Urdu, English and Arabic. Another book titled Ro Main Hai Rakhshe Umer is an autobiography detailing local and international events that occurred in his life. 

In recognition of his outstanding achievements, he was honoured with the pride of performance award in 1999 and later the Sitara-i-Imtiaz as well as titles such as ‘Baba-i-Baghbani Pakistan’ (father of horticulture in Pakistan) and ‘Mr Horticulture in Pakistan’. 

He graduated with a bachelor in horticulture from Allahabad University in 1944. He migrated to Pakistan before independence and settled in Karachi. In 1952, he took advance training in landscape design from Scotland. He represented Pakistan at the International Horticulture Congress held in London in 1952 and was also elected member of the International Committee on Horticulture Nomenclature. 

In 1983, he became the first Asian to be elected as the honorary member of The Landscape Institute, UK, and in 1985 he attended the International Conference on Landscape Planning at Belfast, UK. He visited a number of horticulture centres, botanical gardens and presented papers in the USA, UK and other parts of the world.

His funeral will be held on Monday at 4:30pm at his residence P16/II 9th East Street Phase-1 DHA. Namaz-i-janaza will be held at Tooba Masjid, DHA at 5pm. 

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2015

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