Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary

Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary (; born 11 September 1959) is a Pakistani organic chemist. He is known for his research in natural product chemistry and has published over 1,600 research papers. In 2015, he was recognized as the second most productive scientist in Pakistan.

Education Choudhary earned his BSc from the University of Karachi, followed by an MSc in organic chemistry from the same institution. He completed his PhD in organic chemistry at the H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry at the University of Karachi. His doctoral thesis was titled "The Isolation and Structural Studies on Some Medicinal Plants of Pakistan, Buxus papillosa, Catharanthus roseus, and Cissampelos pareira." He conducted post-doctoral research at Cornell University in the United States.

Career Choudhary has served as a professor at the H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry and Dr. Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine & Drug Research. He is currently professor emeritus at the University of Karachi and served as Director of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences.

He has held visiting professor positions at: University of Rhode Island, United States Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia In October 2024, President Asif Ali Zardari reappointed Choudhary as the Coordinator General of COMSTECH for a second four-year term. He had previously been serving in the role since April 2020.

Awards and honors Choudhary has received numerous awards for his contributions to organic chemistry:

Mustafa Prize (2021) for discovery of molecules with therapeutic applications Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) by the President of Pakistan (2007) COMSTECH Award in Chemistry (2010) TWAS Award (Third World Academy of Sciences Young Scientist Award), Italy (1994) Khwarizmi International Award by the President of Iran (2006) Senior Fulbright Award, United States (1997–1998)

In 2020 one Choudhary's doctoral committed suicide. The reasons cited were of harassment from her supervisor .

Former Higher Education Commission Chairman Tariq Banuri publicly criticized auditing practices during Choudhary's directorship, citing governance concerns. Following this, the government passed a resolution affecting Banuri's administrative authority.

In December 2023, staff members submitted a complaint to the caretaker Chief Minister of Sindh containing allegations of rule violations and financial irregularities, accompanied by supporting documentation. The complaint questioned the approval process for Choudhary's appointments to the director position.

Questions have been raised in media reports about the volume of Choudhary's research output during his administrative tenure. Choudhary has denied the allegations and maintained that he has international credibility in the scientific community.