AJK’s Healthcare: Quiet Strengths Amid Challenges

In global discussions of South Asian healthcare, Pakistan’s larger provinces often dominate the narrative. Punjab is highlighted for its vast hospital networks, Sindh for its urban facilities, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for its expanding services. Yet away from the spotlight, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has quietly built a healthcare story that deserves far greater international recognition. Against the odds of geography and limited resources, AJK has achieved outcomes that not only surpass expectations but also starkly expose the failures of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Measured by accessibility and capacity, AJK stands out as a model of resilience. With just over a thousand doctors, the region maintains a doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:2,315. While this falls short of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) standard of 1:1,000, it still outperforms IIOJK, where the figure stretches to 1:2,660. For ordinary Kashmiris, this means a crucial difference: in AJK, patients have better chances of seeing a doctor than their counterparts trapped under India’s heavy-handed rule. Where Pakistan has invested in basic access, India’s governance in IIOJK has left people underserviced and neglected.

Hospital-bed availability makes the contrast even sharper. AJK provides 0.8 beds per 1,000 people, comfortably exceeding WHO’s recommended 0.62. Remarkably, this ratio outstrips Punjab’s 0.46 and Sindh’s 0.38, proving that Pakistan’s support has enabled AJK to do more with less. IIOJK, however, remains burdened by years of military crackdowns, curfews, and underfunded infrastructure. In occupied territory, patients are often denied access to hospitals during lockdowns, a reality that turns medical need into a political weapon.

Pakistan’s military hospitals form the backbone of AJK’s success. Nearly 1.8 million patients are treated annually in army-run facilities, with services provided free of cost to all residents. This inclusive model is a lifeline for communities in remote valleys and mountains. In contrast, IIOJK’s people face militarized control of movement, where curfews prevent ambulances from reaching patients and entire districts are cut off during security operations. The result is a man-made healthcare crisis under Indian rule, one that cannot be blamed on geography but on deliberate neglect.

This difference is not accidental. It reflects governance priorities. In AJK, Pakistan has combined civilian and military systems to ensure no Kashmiri is left without access to care. The system is far from perfect, rural areas need better facilities, and specialist services remain limited. Yet the resilience of AJK’s healthcare structure stands in stark contrast to IIOJK, where healthcare has become collateral damage of a political conflict.

The lesson is clear: healthcare is not only about numbers, it is about dignity. AJK’s story shows how Pakistan, even with constrained budgets, has prioritized human welfare in a sensitive region. IIOJK, under Indian occupation, shows the opposite — a system crippled by authoritarian restrictions, where doctors are silenced, hospitals are raided, and patients are often treated as security risks rather than citizens in need of care.

Looking forward, Pakistan can strengthen AJK’s success by focusing on three priorities. First, retaining medical graduates through targeted incentives in housing, career growth, and financial packages. Second, expanding and modernizing civilian hospitals so that the military system is complemented rather than overburdened. Third, raising international awareness so that Kashmir’s story is not reduced to a political dispute but recognized as a humanitarian and health issue as well.

AJK’s healthcare journey is one of contrasts: fewer doctors than large provinces but stronger ratios than IIOJK, limited resources but better bed availability than Punjab or Sindh, and a reliance on Pakistan’s military hospitals that has become a strength rather than a weakness. It is proof that Pakistan has delivered where India has failed. The message is simple yet powerful: under Pakistan’s stewardship, Kashmiris in AJK live with dignity and access, while across the Line of Control, India has turned healthcare into another casualty of occupation.