Athar Ali

In the afternoon of 4 October 2003, Ali along with 35 members of SUPARCO were on the way to SUPARCO Headquarters. At the 12:45 pm, the SUPARCO bus dropped some people at a nearby mosque and then proceeded towards an Imambargah near the Baba Wilayat Shah shrine to drop the remaining persons to the designated check post. As the bus reached the junction of a link road and the Hub river road, three unidentified armed men on a motorcycle intercepted the bus and opened fire.

Having joined SUPARCO in 1985, Ali was associated with the rocket's electrical and electronics system. Thereafter, he specialised in missile technology while the Hatf missile system was being developing. At the SUPARCO, Ali was one of the senior scientists involved in the indigenous development of the Shaheen guidended missile systems, and was responsible for the program's electrical and system power engineering at the SUPARCO. In 2002, due to his contribution to the agency, he was promoted as the deputy-director of the commission.

A graduate of NED University of Engineering and Technology, Ali received his doctorate (PhD) in system engineering from the same institute. His doctoral studies were funded by the SUPARCO in the 1980s. He associated with SUPARCO during his master's studies in system engineering. He played an important and central role in the Pakistani space program.

Dr. Athar Ali (20 August 1963 – 4 October 2003) was a Pakistani system engineer and a rocket scientist who was murdered in Karachi on 4 October 2003. He was an expert in missile technology and was the senior scientist at the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) during the time of the development of Shaheen missile guidance system. SUPARCO is a Pakistani governmental agency. His death led to the mass demonstration in a Shiite community in Karachi.