Karachi Trauma Centre Has Treated 328,841 Road Accident Cases in Ten Years

Karachi: The Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Institute of Trauma has put a decade of its work into numbers, and the numbers describe Karachi’s roads as much as they describe the hospital. Since 2016, the Karachi trauma centre has received 328,841 road traffic accident cases.

Ten years, counted

Executive Director Dr Muhammad Sabir Memon presented the figures at the closing ceremony of Trauma Awareness Week 2026 and World Trauma Day, held at the Muin Auditorium of Dow University of Health Sciences on Saturday. Over the decade the institute logged 1,448,624 emergency department visits and 9,634 firearm injury cases, while 5,045 patients arrived already dead. More than 550 patients are brought in every day, treatment is free of charge, and about 80 per cent of patients recover, he said.

Obey the law, and 70 per cent of crashes need not happen

DIG Traffic Police Pir Muhammad Shah told the same gathering that simply following traffic laws could prevent up to 70 per cent of road accidents. Risking your own life, or someone else’s, to save a few minutes is not a sensible trade, he said. Road crashes account for 70 per cent of the cases treated at the trauma centre. Speakers kept returning to the same short list of causes: speeding, reckless driving, no helmet, no seat belt, and a phone in the driver’s hand.

Sindh Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho, MNA Dr Nafisa Shah and Dow University Vice Chancellor Professor Nazli Hussain were among the guests at the closing ceremony. The week’s message, repeated at every session, was plain enough: time saved on the road should never come at the cost of a human life.