Parvez Butt

Parvez Butt (; 4 October 1942 – 26 July 2026) was a Pakistani mechanical engineer and public official who served as the chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 2001 until 2006.

His career was mostly spent at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission's nuclear power division before he chaired the agency, and went to serve in the Musharraf administration as a policy adviser on science as a Federal Secretary, from 2006 until 2008. He continued his public service when he joined the Gilani administration as a policy adviser on nuclear energy at the Planning Commission which he served until 2013.

Early life and education Butt was born on 4 October 1942 in Gujranwala, Punjab Province of British India, where he did his schooling and matriculation. He attended the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) in Lahore where he graduated as a Bachelor of Science (BS) in mechanical engineering in 1962, and went on to attend the University of Toronto in Canada to pursue higher studies in engineering in 1963. When the GE Canada decided to eject from supporting the KANUPP program, Butt was instrumental in setting up the machine shop to engage in designing, manufacturing, and production of the mechanical spare parts needed for plant machinery. During his employment at the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant, Butt realized the importance of the welding and nondestructive testing when he co-founded the Pakistan Welding Institute in Islamabad and the Nondestructive testing facility in Taxila.

He eventually moved towards practising mechanical engineering, when he became involved in setting up the standards for welding and machining of the fasteners and other design component parts when he was appointed director at the Atomic Energy Commission in 1984.

Chairman of the PAEC In 2001, the Musharraf administration announced Butt's appointment as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission — this appointment was significant in international media because Butt was not involved in weapons production. In 2006, Butt responded to the lawsuit filed at the Supreme Court of Pakistan by the local residents of Baghalchur, a former uranium exploration mining site and testified at the Supreme Court when he stated: "It is being done in keeping with the international standards for storing nuclear waste".

His role in nuclear power generation in his country was crucial when Butt signed a contract with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 3 September 2004, that mandated that the Pakistan government extensively use nuclear energy for civilian purposes in agriculture, industry, health, education and environment sectors.

With this agreement, Pakistan became the "highest recipient of IAEA's financial and technical assistance" and the relevant international agencies and Islamabad's bilateral supporters were taken into confidence about the application of nuclear energy for civilian purposes. In 2006, Butt submitted a long-term nuclear power plant project to the federal government, which called for the establishment of more civilian nuclear power plants to increase the industrial output of the country.

On 26 March 2006, Butt sought retirement from the chairmanship of the PAEC and accepted a position as a science adviser (local: Federal Secretary), to the Musharraf administration. He joined the federal government as a science adviser (local position: Federal Secretary) and served in the Musharraf administration until 2008. Hilal-e-Imtiaz (1999)

Death Butt died in Islamabad on 26 July 2026, at the age of 83.

Research paper Status and Potential of Small and Medium Power Reactors in Pakistan.

Awards and honours Hilal-i-Imtiaz (1999) Sitara-i-Imtiaz (1999) Tamgha-e-Baqa (2000) Nishan-e-Imtiaz (2016)

Associations Member of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) Member of World Nuclear Association (WNA) Vice Chair of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (2005) An elected fellow of Pakistan Nuclear Society (1995)