Urologists
in Pakistan started with being associated with the
Nephrologists and there exists a Nephro-Urology Association.
However this was not a natural association but simply a
marriage of convenience which was waiting to fall apart. It
was the leadership of Professor Farrakh Khan who had the far
sight of forming the Pakistan Association of Urological
Surgeons (PAUS) and for this in 1997 he brought together all
the young and senior urologists of the country.
In August 1997, a small but convinced group of urologists
gathered in the auditorium of Mayo Hospital, Lahore for 2 days
of meeting and to launch their nascent association PAUS. Behind
the scene, discussions and negotiations were necessary to have
all stake holders on board. A working group was formed to get
the constitution of PAUS ready and then to take the association
to the next level.
In 1998 the first meeting of the newly formed PAUS association
was held in Lahore.
Professor Farakh Khan as president, Professor Riaz Tasneem as
secretary and Dr. Salman Waris as treasurer were elected as the
first ever office bearers of the association. This was a term of
2 years. This meeting also was a landmark as it was attended by
the then Prime Minister who donated a sum of Rs. 2 million as
seed money for getting PAUS off the ground.
Year 2000 saw the first PAUS meeting at Lahore and was the
beginning of much to come. In 2001 a meeting held in Karachi at
Sindh Institute of Urological Transplantation (SIUT), Dr. Masood
Sheikh was elected as President , Dr. Farhat Abbas as secretary
and Dr. Zafar Zaidi as treasurer took charge of PAUS Central
Office . The constitution was revised and chapters vitalized. It
was decided to hold an annual meeting of PAUS.
In 2002 PAUS annual meeting was organized by Lahore Chapter and
the term Urocon was adopted.
Urocon 2003 was held in Karachi and saw change of guard and
Professor Fateh Khan Akhtar took over as president with
Professor Sajjad Hussain as secretary and Professor Saleem
Akhtar as treasurer for a period of 2 years.
Urocon
2005 was held yet again in Lahore and this time it was an
International meeting with a sizable contingent of
urologists from India. PAUS election was deferred. However
Professor Adib ul Hasan Rizvi took over as President, Dr.
Zafar Zaidi as secretary and Dr. Abdul Majid Rana as
treasurer.
PAUS elections later were held during the SIUT meeting 2005 at
Karachi, and saw a healthy competition to various posts. PAUS
was revitalized and chapters' activity was encouraged. PAUS now
have 11 chapters and a new chapter in UK was also started.
Urocon 2006 was held at Islamabad and by now the scientific
content of the meetings had improved significantly.
Urocon 2007 was held in Peshawar. Besides an excellent
scientific program, an exciting social program it also held a
closely fought election of PAUS office bearers. Professor Sajjad
Hussain took over as President, Professor Riaz Tasneem as
secretary and Dr. Muzammil Tahir as treasurer.
Urocon 2008 was held after a delay in Faisalabad.
Urocon 2009 was held in Lahore and saw another election with
Professor Ahmed Fawad taking over as President, Dr. Hammad Ather
as secretary and Dr. Aziz Abdullah as treasurer.
PAUS is now a vibrant organization with over 250 members spread
all over Pakistan in 11 chapters and a UK chapter. It has
resulted in bringing people with various backgrounds close to
each other and remains a forum to exchange ideas and
experiences. PAUS helps to augment the patchy training of
urologists of the country and to unify them into an active
scientific body. |
