The Pakistan Army Medical Corps,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

combatant Combatant is the legal status of an individual who has the right to engage in hostilities during an armed conflict. The legal definition of "combatant" is found at article 43(2) of Additional Protocol I (AP1) to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It ...

staff corps, and a primary military medical command of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

. Initially part of the

Indian Army Medical Corps The Indian Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the Indian Army which primarily provides medical services to all Army personnel, serving and veterans, along with their families. Early history Very little is known of the medical organisatio ...

, it was born in 1947 and served since Pakistan's independence in 1947. It is a vital part of Pakistan Army, serving in a support and military medical role. The corps also has a secondary role of providing civil services in health, rehabilitation and disaster relief to the wider Pakistan community.

Mission

Induction

1. Medical cadets from

Army Medical College Army Medical College ( ur, , also known as ''AM College'') is a military institute which was established in 1977 as a residential institution for imparting undergraduate medical education to selected cadets. The college also allows the civili ...

CMH Lahore Medical College, CMH Karachi (Malir) medical college, CMH Multan Medical College and CMH Quetta Medical College after completion of basic military training at Pakistan Military Academy join this corps. 2. The civil medical college graduated students / specialists are also inducted into Army Medical Corps. Divided into two categories, SSRC and PTC, they undergo basic military training at AMC School and Centre Abbotabad for 22 weeks and 12 weeks respectively. 3. Female medical cadets from

train for 22 weeks in AFPGMI. The same goes for the female civil medical college graduated students / specialists. 4. Soldiers in nursing and other trades of Army Medical Corps cadre undergo their basic military training and nursing classes at AMC centre Abottabad and subsequent professional courses at AFPGMI.

Aims and objectives

Besides their primary role in serving the Pakistan Army both in battle and in the conditions of peace, the Pakistan Army Medical Corps undertakes the following peace time activities: * Provision of health services to the civilian community through a vast chain of Combined Military Hospitals (CMHs); * Combating situations of disaster by providing rehabilitation services; and * Establishing "health centers" in remote locations so that all Pakistanis can reach health facilities easily.

History

Before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the men of the Indian Army depended on their regimental hospitals for their medical treatment. In October 1918, Station Hospitals were sanctioned for the Indian troops to help improve the provision of services. The Indian Hospital Corps (IHC) was initially divided into ten Division Companies, which corresponded to the ten existing Military Divisions in India and Burma. They were located at

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

Mhow Mhow, officially Dr. Ambedkar Nagar, is a town in the Indore district in Madhya Pradesh state of India. It is located south-west of Indore city, towards Mumbai on the old Mumbai-Agra Road. The town was renamed as ''Dr. Ambedkar Nagar'' in 20 ...

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...

and

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

. After the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in 1947, the

raised its own medical corps. Since then the Pakistan Army Medical Corps has provided services in the majority of health related fields. In the past personnel were taken from Army Medical College in Rawalpindi, but with the need of more health professionals in the army as well as an increased demand for their services, the corps has begun to recruit civilians medical personnel, who then attend short military courses.

Combined Military Hospitals

Combined Military Hospitals (CMHs) are the base hospitals of the Pakistan Armed Forces, which are situated in various cantonments. These hospitals are run by the doctors of Pakistan's Army Medical Corps. The administration is carried out by the General Duty Medical Officers (GDMOs) while the patients' management and care is primarily the responsibility of the doctors of specialist cadre. The CMHs are categorized into three major parts depending on their functions, governing and physical body and role as Class 'A', Class 'B' and Class 'C' Hospitals. *Class 'A' hospitals **CMH

Abbottabad Abbottabad (; Urdu, Punjabi language(HINDKO dialect) آباد, translit=aibṭabād, ) is the capital city of Abbottabad District in the Hazara region of eastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in Pakistan and fourth ...

CMH Rawalpindi The Combined Military Hospital Rawalpindi is a tertiary care military hospital in Rawalpindi.Kharian Kharian ( ur, ), is a city located within the Gujrat District of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Kharian is the headquarters of Kharian Tehsil. According to 2017 Census of Pakistan, it has a population of about 87,419. It is known as Litt ...

CMH Lahore The Combined Military Hospital Lahore is the largest tertiary care teaching hospital operated by the Pakistan Army. Its primary function is to provide specialized medical treatment to Armed forces personnel, their dependents (immediate familie ...

**CMH

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

**CMH

**CMH Malir Cantonment

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

**CMH

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

**CMH Pano Aqil *Class 'B' hospitals **CMH

Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...

**CMH

Sargodha Sargodha ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Punjab province, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 12th largest city by population and one of the fastest-growing cities of the country. Sargodha is also known as ...

**CMH

Jhelum Jhelum ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for p ...

**CMH

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

**CMH Nowshera **CMH

Muzaffarabad Muzaffarabad (; ur, ) is the capital and largest city of Azad Kashmir, and the 60th largest in Pakistan. The city is located in Muzaffarabad District, near the confluence of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers. The district is bounded by the Pak ...

**CMH

Kohat Kohat ( ps, کوهاټ; ur, ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century ...

*Class 'C' hospitals **CMH

Attock Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st larg ...

**CMH

Bannu Bannu ( ps, بنو, translit=banū ; ur, , translit=bannū̃, ) is a city located on the Kurram River in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the capital of Bannu Division. Bannu's residents are primarily members of the Banuchi tribe ...

**CMH Chorre **CMH

Thall Thall ( ps, ټل, ''Ṭəl'') is a town in Thall Tehsil of Hangu District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is ...

**CMH

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...

**CMH

Mailsi Mailsi () is a city in southern Punjab, Pakistan. It is the headquarters of Mailsi Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of Vehari District. Description It is one of the largest tehsil of Vehari District; the cities of Lodhran and Vehari were ...

**CMH

Sibi Sibi ( Sindhi: سيوي ur, ) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city is the headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name. Etymology The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hindu la ...

**CMH

Khuzdar Khuzdar ( Brahui/ bal, ; ur, , ), historically known as Qusdar ( ar, قصدار, quṣdār), is the capital city of Khuzdar District in the central part of Balochistan Province, Pakistan. Khuzdar is the 2nd-largest city of Balochistan province ...

**CMH

Murree Murree ( Punjabi, Urdu: مری) is a mountain resort city, located in the Galyat region of the Pir Panjal Range, within the Muree District of Punjab, Pakistan. It forms the outskirts of the Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area, and is about ...

**CMH

Zhob Zhob (; ) or Zhobak (), formerly known as Appozai or Fort Sandeman, is a city and district capital of Zhob District in Balochistan province of Pakistan. Zhob is located on the banks of Zhob River 337 km from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. T ...

**CMH

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

**CMH D I Khan **CMH

Tarbela Tarbela ( pnb, ) or Torbela ( ps, توربېلا) is one of the 44 union councils, administrative subdivision, of Haripur District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The name comes from the words ''tor'' (Pashto for "black") and ''be ...

**CMH

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a h ...

**CMH

Mardan Mardān (Pashto and ; Urdu ; Pashto: ) is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). It is a fast-growing ...

**CMH

Mangla Mangla (منگلا) is a town situated in District Mirpur within the region of Azad Kashmir. The village is located in the west of the foothills of Mangla's fort (which also derived its name from the same village). It is surrounded on three sides ...

**CMH

Risalpur Risalpur (Pashto/ ur, رسالپور) is a city in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on the Nowshera-Mardan Road. It is nearly 45 km from Peshawar and 18 km from Mardan and is located at 34°4'52N 71°58'21E. In a basin so ...

**CMH

Rawalakot Rawalakot ( ur, ) is the capital of Poonch district in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is located in the Pir Panjal Range. History Along with Pallandri, Rawalakot was the focal point of the 1955 Poonch uprising. It was led by the local Sudhans ...

**CMH

Chunian Chunian ( ur, ), is a historic city and the capital of Chunian Tehsil of Punjab, Pakistan. It is located at 30° 58' N 73° 51' E and at an elevation of 177 metres (583 feet), and lies about 70 km south of Lahore the Punjab capital. I ...

**CMH

Bahawalnagar Bahawalnagar ( Punjabi, ur, ), is the capital city of Bahawalnagar District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city of Bahawalnagar is the headquarter of the district and tehsil as well.

**CMH Okara

United Nations and the Pakistan Army Medical Corps

The Pakistan Army Medical Corps is one of the largest contributors of health services to United Nations. Since 1960 Pakistan has been actively involved in most of the UN peacekeeping, rehabilitation and health providing missions and today stands at the top with 10,175 troops and observers serving in current missions. The Pakistan Army Medical Corps is a major part of it. Some of the largest contributions have been in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

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, Congo and

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

. In the wake of the new world power equilibrium a more complex security environment has emerged. It is characterised by growing national power politics and state implosions which have necessitated involvement of the United Nations peace keeping forces for conflict resolution. The United Nations has been undertaking peace keeping operations since its inception, but the need for employment of peace keeping forces has increased significantly since the Gulf War. In 1992 there were 11,000 Blue Berets deployed around the world; by the end of the year the figure rose to 52,000. Presently it exceeds 80,000 troops. * UN Operation in Congo (

ONUC The United Nations Operation in the Congo (french: Opération des Nations Unies au Congo, abbreviated to ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. ONUC was the ...

) 1960–1964 * UN Security Force in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

West Irian Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...

(UNSF) 1962–1963 * UN Yemen Observer Mission Yemen (UNYOM) 1963–1964 * UN Transition Assistance Group in Namibia (UNTAG) 1989–1990 * UN Iraq–Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM) 1991–2003 * UN Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) 1993–1996 * UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) 1992–1993 * UN Operations in Somalia (UNOSOM) 1992–1995 * UN Protection Forces in Bosnia (UNPROFOR) 1992–1995 * UN Observer Mission for

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

(UNAMIR) 1993–1996 * UN Verification Mission in Angola (UNAVEM III) 1995–1997 * UN Transitional Administration for Eastern

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

(UNTAES) 1996–1997 * UN Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP) 1996–2002 * UN Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) 2001–2005 * UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) 1999-to-date The table below shows the current deployment of Pakistani Forces in UN Peacekeeping missions. * The total number of troops serving currently in peacekeeping missions is 10,173 (as of March 2007).

National relief works

In times of natural disaster, such as the great floods of 1992 or the devastating October 2005

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

, army engineers, medical and logistics personnel, and the armed forces have played a major role in bringing relief and supplies. The army has also engaged in extensive corporate activities. Most of these enterprises, such as stud and dairy farms, were for the army's own use, but others, such as bakeries, security services and banking, perform functions in the local civilian economy. Army factories have produced such goods as sugar, fertilizer, and brass castings which have then been sold to civilian consumers, albeit at prices higher than those charged from military personnel. Several army organizations operate in the commercial sector across the country. For example, the

National Logistics Cell The National Logistics Cell (NLC) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani logistics company run by the Pakistan Government. The NLC served as a sole purpose of crises management and logistics emergence on a short notice for the Pakistan Government The Gover ...

was responsible for trucking food and other goods across the country; the Frontier Works Organization built the Karakorum Highway to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

; and the Special Communication Organization maintained communications networks in remote parts of Pakistan. The Pakistan Army has been involved in relief activities not only in Pakistan but also in many other countries of the world, such as the relief activities after

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

was recently hit by floods. The Army also dispatched relief to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

after they were hit by the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

and the resulting tsunami. Both the Pakistan Army and Navy sent ships and helicopters to assist in the tsunami relief operation. The Army Medical Corps are responsible for providing medical facilities and organizing free medical camps in under privileged tribal areas such as the

Federally Administered Tribal Areas , conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas , nation = Pakistan , subdivision = Autonomous territory , image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg , image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...

in the North-West Frontier Province (now

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

). The medical corps provided health-care facilities to more than 12,000 people affected by the 2010 floods in Pakistan.

Army doctors and international disasters

* Pakistan Army provided humanitarian assistance to the community in the form of daily free medical treatment at Tubmanburg and the medical outreach initiatives in 2008. * Pakistan Army Field Hospital which was deployed at Bhandaria, Barisal, Bangladesh for relief operations after Cyclone "Sidr" worked day and night to mitigate the suffering of the flood affected people earning goodwill for Pakistan. * Pakistan Field Hospital has been established at Lamno, which is the District Headquarters of Aceh Jaya. Lamno is 80 km South West of Bande Aceh. * Pakistan Army Field Hospital which proceeded to Indonesia to carry out relief and rescue operation had treated thousands of patients since their arrival on in earthquake hit areas of District Klaten in Central Java in Indonesia.

Units

* 4 Medical Battalion * 44 Medical Battalion * 61 Medical Battalion * 64 Medical Battalion * 66 Medical Battalion * 70 Medical Battalion * 71 Medical Battalion * 72 Medical Battalion * 74 Medical Battalion * 77 Medical Battalion * 78 Medical Battalion * 123 Medical Battalion * 130 Medical Battalion * 134 Medical Battalion * 136 Medical Battalion * 137 Medical Battalion * 144 Medical Battalion * 173 Medical Battalion

Mountain units

* 1 Mountain Medical Battalion * 2 Mountain Medical Battalion * 3 Mountain Medical Battalion * 4 Mountain Medical Battalion * 5 Mountain Medical Battalion

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control M Pakistan M M M

Mission

Induction

Aims and objectives

History

Combined Military Hospitals

United Nations and the Pakistan Army Medical Corps

National relief works

Army doctors and international disasters

Units

Mountain units

See also

References

External links