A Short History

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.