By: Deeba Shahnaz Akhter
Provincial Monitoring Officer, Rescue Punjab
safepakmission@gmail.com
The year 2025 proved to be the most challenging and successful year in the history of Punjab Emergency Service Rescue 1122. This was the year when Rescue 1122 set a new example of humanitarian compassion and professional expertise by demonstrating its capabilities to the fullest. Pakistan’s largest flood rescue operation continued for 106 consecutive days from July 9 to October 22 October 2024. In this flood operation, 4,500 rescuers worked day and night using 1,517 rescue boats to evacuate over 2.6 million citizens and more than 2.1 million livestock to safe locations in areas along Punjab’s rivers including the Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej. Only through rescue boats, over 3.5 million stranded citizens were evacuated while boat transportation was provided to over 1.1 million people. Tragically, 147 people lost their lives in the flood devastation.
Under the vision of the Chief Minister of Punjab, multiple important measures were taken by the Government of Punjab in 2025 to enhance the capacity of the Emergency Services Department. Ambulance service was launched at 76 interchanges on Punjab’s 1,588-kilometer-long motorways. Emergency services were expanded to 89 new towns in Punjab, and 256 new ambulances were added to the rescue fleet. The expansion of fire rescue service to all tehsils of Punjab was also started. As a historic initiative, air ambulance service was launched for the first time in Punjab for timely shifting of critically ill patients from remote areas of Bahawalnagar, Mianwali, and Bhakkar to specialized hospitals. The construction of an air strip in Bhakkar was completed, benefiting 237 patients so far.
Under the Chief Minister of Punjab’s Digital Punjab vision, a GIS-based Emergency Management and Dispatch System (EMDS) was implemented in Emergency Services Headquarters Lahore. To fulfill the mission of saving lives in Punjab, over 300,000 citizens were trained through the online Life Savers Program. Over 150,000 people from educational institutions, madrassas, and the industrial sector were provided training as Rescue Scouts. To prevent accidents and promote safety culture in Punjab, over 5,000 volunteer Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) were established in all union councils. Along with other responsibilities assigned by Rescue 1122, these teams courageously provided full services alongside Rescue 1122 during Operation Banyan-ul-Marsoos, assisting in management of emergencies and thousands of trained Rescue Scouts also responded overnight to rescue stations and, together with rescue trainers, provided rescue and civil defense training to over 200,000 citizens.
Emergency Services Academy Lahore established collaboration with international organizations including the United Nations INSARAG, World Health Organization (WHO), and the UK Fire Service for world-class training. The Academy has trained over 26,000 rescuers so far, including all provinces of Pakistan as well as Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, Syria, and Tajikistan. In 2025, 1,271 rescuers from Punjab and Sindh completed their training. To improve disaster response, Punjab Inter-District Rescue Teams competitions, National Rescue Challenge, International Rescue Challenge, and International Volunteer Day Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) Challenge were organized.
Moreover, Rescue 1122 responded to 2.5 million routine emergencies in 2025, providing rescue services to 2.2 million victims, which is 10 percent more than 2024. These included over 487,000 road accidents. Timely responding to over 28,500 fire emergencies and through professional firefighting Rescue 1122 saved losses worth 69 billion PKR. Timely rescue services were provided in over 1.7 million medical emergencies, 66,000 fall incidents, 4,358 burn cases, 1,007 building collapse incidents, and 1,026 drowning incidents. The Motorbike Rescue Service maintained an average response time of five minutes in over 1.3 million emergencies. The Patient Transfer Service timely transferred over 1.6 million patients.
As per the vision of CM Punjab and Supervision of Minister Health & Emergency Services Khawaja Salman Rafique, Dr Rizwan Naseer introduced performance-based model for all employees. Every minute counts and every life matters. Every one working in emergency services needs to be physically fit with good performance. The performance is being monitored on every emergency through digitize system. Rescue 1122 has saved millions of precious lives by serving all citizens of Punjab without discrimination during its 21year journey of serving to humanity. Punjab Emergency Service is an integrated model of emergency services in South Asia, providing ambulance service, fire and rescue operations, flood victim rescue, animal rescue, community safety services, and building safety. All these services can be obtained by dialing emergency number 1122. Additionally, Emergency Services also provide services on Lost helpline number 1192, to reunite hundreds of missing people affected by accidents, emergencies, and disasters with their families.
Punjab Emergency Services Rescue 1122 is welcoming 2026 with the great spirit of service to humanity to promote road safety, building safety, and community safety in Punjab. Moving forward from 2025, the Emergency Services is committed to implementing the Community Safety Act and expanding the volunteer mission through the Rescue Cadet Scout online portal and establishing more Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) throughout Punjab. This journey of Service to Humanity continues and will continue with boundless passion. May Allah grant us the ability to maintain the quality of our services and continue serving humanity with the same spirit آمین.
