History

Probably the first seeds for formally establishing a Botanical Society were sown in the picturesque setting at Bara Gali in 1965 where the participants of the Summer Seminar in Botany resolved to establish a national platform for all those interested in Plant Sciences. Among others who participated in these discussions were Prof. Sher Ahmed Lodhi, Prof. Majid Ahmed, Dr. Khwaja Muhammad Salim, Dr. Shah Rukh Chughtai, Dr. Mustafa Shameel and Mrs. Rukayya Khan. The idea was welcomed by other Plant Scientists actively engaged in research in different organizations in the country.

In 1968, the Pakistan Botanical Society came into existence with Prof. Sher Ahmed Lodhi, Professor of Botany, University of The Punjab as the founder President. Dr. Majid Ahmed and Dr. S. I. Ali, shared the responsibilities as Vice Presidents, whereas Dr. Shaukat Ali Chowdhry was elected Secretary / Treasurer for the year 1968-69.

Prof. A. S. Islam of the University of Sindh was appointed Editor-in-Chief of Pakistan Journal of Botany (PJB) in 1968-69. The first issue of the journal appeared in 1969. In 1971 Professor Islam shifted to Dacca and Dr. Abdul Ghaffar took over as Chief Editor of PJB. Since then he has been editing PJB most ably in spite of financial difficulties.

PJB, which is published biannually, has gradually gained an international reputation. A number of foreign universities and learned bodies purchase PJB and the papers (both from Pakistani and foreign scientists) published in this journal are indexed in Biological Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts and Current Contents.

It seems that the students of Plant Sciences have always gathered together in groups to exchange ideas from time to time. For example, in 1950 Karachi Botanical Society was established and weekly meetings of plant scientists working in various organizations located in Karachi were held quite regularly at the Department of Plant Protection. After a few years, however, activities of the Society lost momentum and came to an end.

The First Regional Meeting of Plant Scientists was held in the Department of Botany, University of Karachi in 1966. The second Regional Meeting of Plant Scientists was held in the Department of Botany, University of Karachi in 1967 and the Third Regional Meeting was organized by the Department of Botany, University of Sindh, Jamshoro in 1968.

The response of Plant Scientists in the Regional Meetings prior to the formal establishment of PBS, was so overwhelming that it seemed highly desirable to continue holding these meeting under the umbrella of the PBS. This provided an opportunity to active research workers to present their results and to generate discussions for further planning of their research. Special lectures by eminent plant scientists were also arranged in order to highlight the recent trends in various branches of botanical sciences.

The Fourth Regional Meeting of Plant Scientists was held at the Department of Botany, University of Karachi in 1974 under the auspices of PBS. Subsequently, a Regional Meeting of Plant Scientists was organized in January 1979 in the Department of Botany, University of Karachi and the same year another Regional Meeting of Plant Scientists was held at the Department of Biological Sciences, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad. In September 1980, PBS sponsored a Regional Meeting at Tando Jam that was jointly organized by the Atomic Energy Agricultural Research Centre, Sindh Agriculture University and Agricultural Research Institute, Tando Jam. This paved the way for initiating the conference of plant scientists at the national level. Starting in 1982, the Society has so far held 4 national conferences of plant scientists.

During the 4th National Conference of Plant Scientists the PBS General Body took the decision to bring out a Society Newsletter, which is now regularly published quarterly as 'Plant Sciences Newsletter'.

Ever since its inception in 1968, PBS has grown steadily over the years and has now membership of plant scientists working in all the four provinces of Pakistan and abroad. The aims and objectives of PBS are to cultivate, promote and disseminate the knowledge of all the branches of plant sciences; to encourage and to stimulate interest in research in all disciplines of Plant Sciences in Pakistan; to undertake such activities which are conducive to or necessary for the fulfillment of these objectives and cooperate with other organizations having similar objectives.

(Based on information published in Plant Sciences Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 1, March 1994).

© Pakistan Botanical Society