Wajid Ali Khan Burki

Wajid Ali Khan Burki (28 October 1900 – 17 January 1989) was a Pakistani ophthalmologist, surgeon, agriculturist, diplomat and author, who served as a three-star rank general in the Pakistan Army Medical Corps. He has been described as the "Father of Medical Services in Pakistan" and the "Argyll Robertson of Pakistan".

Born in the Punjab Province, Khan graduated from Government College, Lahore in 1919 and traveled to the United Kingdom to pursue medical studies at the University of St. Andrews. Beginning his career as a junior clinical assistant at the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital, he later advanced to senior assistant and earned his Doctorate of Medicine in 1925. He joined the Indian Medical Service in 1926, ranking first among the only four officers selected from a pool of over sixty foreign-qualified candidates. After working in military hospitals throughout British India, he earned his Diploma in Ophthalmic Medicine and Surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital in 1932, having trained under John Herbert Parsons. He then became an eye specialist at a military hospital in Meerut.

As acting assistant director of medical services in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II, he was recognised with the honour of Member of the British Empire (MBE). In the Burma campaign, he played a major role in combating diseases such as malaria among British and Indian troops, as assistant director of the 7th Indian Infantry Division. He received two Mentions in Despatches, the first during the Abyssinian Campaign, as leader of a field ambulance unit of the Ball of Fire, and the second for his contribution in the Battle of the Admin Box. He also served in the Battles of Imphal and Kohima, earning the Commander of the British Empire (CBE). In 1946, he was appointed to a three-member committee tasked with organising and integrating army medical services into a single corps.

After the Partition of British India in 1947, he opted for Pakistan and became the second most senior officer and first Deputy Director General of Medical Services of the Army Medical Corps. In 1954, he was promoted to Director General and the Surgeon General of the Pakistan Armed Forces. In October 1958, he was tasked with enhancing the efficiency of hospitals across the country; notable improvements were observed within days, particularly in Karachi. In recognition of his effective leadership, General Ayub Khan appointed him as the Health Minister following his coup d'état later that month. In office, he established hundreds of medical facilities, such as the rural health scheme, and programs for public health which included village dispensaries, the eradication of malaria and smallpox, control of tuberculosis, and the organisation of eye camps. He was also a supporter of worker's rights and members of the press.

Amid President Ayub Khan's overseas visits, he served as acting President of Pakistan. Additionally, he held several ministerial roles and helped facilitate the emigration of Pakistani workers to the UK and the Middle East in the 1960s. He was instrumental in negotiating with the British Government to establish free immigration rights, which gave the economy of Pakistan a massive boost. He also introduced progressive labor legislation and pioneered Pakistan's second national labor policy.

Following the Bradford smallpox outbreak of 1962, he cracked down on poor vaccination and isolation practices in Karachi. Moreover, he criticised the British government for singling out Pakistani immigrants for the outbreak while ignoring similar conditions among Indian immigrants, questioning the double standard. In meetings with British officials, he condemned the physical violence and abuse directed at Pakistanis in Britain, arguing it stemmed largely from economic fear and resentment.

Between 1958 and 1963, he spearheaded the establishment of several medical organisations, including the Armed Forces Pathological Laboratory, Armed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (as Founding Chairman), College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan (as Founding President) and the National Health Laboratories. He was also influential in the founding of Islamabad when the city was being planned in 1959 and served as Pakistan's Ambassador to Scandinavia from 1963 to 1966. At the age of 88, Khan died from lung cancer in 1989.