History of Dermatology in Pakistan.

Pakistan emerged as a sovereign country on world map on 14th August, 1947. Like all walks of life, there was acute shortage of medical and health facilities in the new born state. The majority of specialist doctors and teachers were Hindus and had left for India. There were only two medical colleges, King Edward Medical College and Lahore and Dow Medical College, Karachi, with no postgraduate medical institute in the whole country. Although, venereology out-patient clinics were run in the major hospitals, there was not a single qualified dermatologist at that time. Five to six lectures covering the common dermatological diseases were delivered by the internists. It can be said that dermatology, as a specialty, virtually started from scratch.