Academic Dr. Shakeel ur Rehman Farooqui passes away

Academic and former Karachi University Teachers' (KUTS) Society president Dr. Shakeel ur Rehman Farooqui passed away on Monday.

His funeral prayers were offered at Masjid-e-Ibrahim at the University of Karachi (KU) and he was buried in the KU graveyard.

He is survived by a widow, a son, and a daughter. KU vice-chancellor Dr. Khalid Mahmood Iraqi has expressed sorrow for his demise.

Dr. Farooqui was born in Hyderabad on July 20, 1960.

He studied at Sindh University Model School and did his matriculation in 1975 from the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Hyderabad.

Later, he moved to Karachi and completed his intermediate in 1978 from Government National College.

He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in botany from the KU in 1983 and was awarded a gold medal.

Dr. Farooqui joined the KU as a lecturer in the department of genetics in March 1988, and was promoted to the position of an assistant professor in October 1995.

He completed his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 1994 and retired from service on July 20, 2020.

During the last week of February, he tested positive for Covid-19 and was shifted to a private hospital located in Gulistan-e-Johar, where he survived several heart attacks.

He was then shifted to another private hospital and put on a ventilator as his health was not improving.

He also underwent dialysis on Sunday night.

Dr. Farooqui was a prolific writer, anchorperson, presenter and columnist. He raised his voice for teachers' and students' rights and was a former syndicate member of the KU.