OSP

On the eve of independence (14th August 1947) the total number of ophthalmologists left in the country perhaps could be counted on the fingers of two hands. There were a few in Karachi, some in Lahore, one each at Shikarpur, Quetta, Daska, Taxila etc., Karachi: Dr. A. D. Minhas, Dr. Mahmood Ali, Dr. Ankal Saria, Lahore: Dr. Ramzan Ali Syed, Dr. M. Bashir, Peshawar: Dr. Qazi A. Jabbar, Quetta: Dr. Henry Holland, Taxila: Dr. N. E. Christi. Besides a few in the armed forces. At the time of partition of India, vast majority of the doctors were Hindus, Sikhs and few Christians. Almost all of them left for India or other countries, so the young Pakistan was left with a whopping gap of these professionals. Consequently there was no Ophthalmic Society what so ever, although all India Ophthalmic Society existed since 1942.

In the hearts of our hearts, we did wish to have our own eye society. But these ideas mothballed in our hearts or in the office files of our nascent country. Then to our good luck, a person like Dr. Raja Mumtaz, a smart young man arrived on the scene. His do something attitude could not rest for long. His unalloyed dedication and hard work did bear fruit for OSP.

The formation of OSP took a strange course Dr. William John Holmes of Honolulu, Hawai, President of APAO wrote the following letter to Dr. Raja Mumtaz on 10th July 1957. This letter acted as a catalyst for our dreams to come true.