Microsoft Word - Obituary Prof. Tahir Mahmood


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OBITUARY 
Prof. Dr. Tahir Mahmood 

(1962-2010)  
 

Tahir Mahmood had a sudden and fatal heart attack on 20th December 2010 (13th Moharram-ul-Haram). It was 
news which hundreds of his friends, students, colleagues and family members heard with a great degree of 
surprise and grief. 

Prof. Mahmood was born in 20th of July 1962 (48 years old at time of death). He graduated from the 
prestigious Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore in 1986. He had his basic training in Ophthalmology from 
Services and Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore and then moved on to United Kingdom, where he did FRCS. He 
had further training at Rotherham and Kent in England. He came back to Pakistan with great enthusiasm in 
1995 and held various faculty positions at Shaikh Zayed Hospital & Federal Postgraduate Medical Institute 
Lahore till became Professor in 2008. He was the first Ophthalmologist to have served as the Administrator of 
Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. 

In his carrier there were several highlights like; performed first LASIK procedure in Pakistan, performed 
more than 10,000 Photo-refractive surgeries and performed more than 19,000 phacoemulsifications. He was a 
great teacher and produced several students who have achieved high positions in their own carriers. His 
academic commitment was remarkable. He took over responsibilities of Pakistan Journal of Ophthalmology 
overnight from Prof. J. Durrani and assisted Prof. M. Latif Chaudhry as Editor to bring it to current status. He 
was a very active Life Member of Ophthalmological Society of Pakistan and served Lahore Branch as Joint 
Secretary and Member of Executive Committee. 

Despite his high profile career his personality did not have a glimpse of attitude towards junior colleagues 
and sub-ordinates. He used all his positions to serve not to surpass. Despite lot of work he did for the 
Ophthalmic Community, he preferred to avoid any moment of glorification. His soft voice and humble attitude 
became his trademark. The legacy he left behind for us is; adherence to professional ethics, seeking technical 
perfection and the ultimate humanism in all spheres of life. May Allah (SWT) bless his soul in peace and 
honour him with the companionship of Prophet Mohammad (SAW) in Jannat. 
 
 
 
 

Zahid Kamal Siddiqui 
Abdul Hamid Awan