“The Mustafa Prize is regarded as the Nobel Prize of the Muslim world, which was established in 2012 as a symbol of scientific excellence at the international level to appreciate prominent scientists and provide the ground for scientific cooperation and development worldwide.”

As a top science and technology award, the Mustafa Prize is granted biennially to the top researchers and scientists from the Islamic world in four categories: Life and Medical Science and Technology, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Information and Communication Science and Technology, and all areas of science and technology.

It is pertinent to mention here that this year five scientists from Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Lebanon, and Morocco have been awarded the 2021 Mustafa Prize in their respective fields of study. The laureates in each category will be awarded $500,000, a medal, and a certificate, according to the Mustafa Prize website.

It is also worth mentioning that Prof Iqbal Choudhary is a world-renowned medicinal chemist. He has published 1,175 research papers in the fields of organic and bio-organic chemistry in international journals, 76 books, and 40 chapters in books published by major US and European press. He has secured 40 US patents so far.

Dr. Iqbal's work has been cited by researchers from around the world — 27,407 times in total — and his h-index is 70. As many as 94 local and international scholars have completed their Ph.D. degrees under his supervision so far.

Dr. Iqbal, who holds DSc, Ph.D., and CChem degrees, has been awarded by different Pakistani governments with the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, and Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.

He has been elected a fellow by renowned academies, including the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, Islamic World Academy of Sciences, Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Royal Society of Chemistry, and Chemical Society of Pakistan.

Prof Iqbal has previously been honoured by the president of Iran with the Khwarizmi International Award; president of Azerbaijan with the ECO Award in Education; and the prime minister of Pakistan with COMSTECH Award in Chemistry.

He was given the prestigious title of distinguished national professor by the Higher Education Commission in 2004 and meritorious professor by the University of Karachi in 2013.