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Hamdard: Behind a familiar taste, a Pakistani institution
Hamdard Pakistan produces a broad portfolio of herbal medicines, prescribed remedies, consumer healthcare products and natural wellness solutions
- PUBLISHED: Fri 14 Aug 2026, 9:00 AM
Rooh Afza is the first Hamdard name many readers recognise. Its place at Ramadan tables, family gatherings and summer afternoons has made it part of Pakistani cultural memory. Behind that familiar taste stands Hamdard Pakistan, an institution whose work reaches across traditional medicine, healthcare, education, research and public welfare.
A country can feel close through a familiar taste. For Pakistanis abroad, one sip may recall a room, a season or a family gathering without warning. Rooh Afza has acquired that power because it has remained in use. It is not preserved as an object from the past. It continues to be poured, shared and introduced to new generations. Yet Rooh Afza is only the most visible part of a much larger Pakistani story.
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A new country, a deliberate choice
After migration Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said established Hamdard Pakistan in Karachi on a modest scale. He arrived with expertise in Tibb-e-Unani, but the decision was larger than professional opportunity. He had chosen a new homeland and believed that the choice created a duty to serve it.
Hamdard Pakistan grew from that conviction. It developed as a Pakistani institution with its own governance, manufacturing, healthcare services, educational work and public-service mandate. This distinction matters for international readers who may recognise the Hamdard name through different organisations in South Asia.
The earnings from Hamdard support health, education and philanthropy. Hamdard Foundation Pakistan was established to manage this work and extend it through organised programmes.
Medicine grounded in knowledge
Hamdard Pakistan’s foundations lie in Tibb-e-Unani, a medical tradition built through centuries of observation, scholarship and practice. Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said worked to place that knowledge within a modern research and manufacturing environment. He wanted traditional medicine to meet clear standards of formulation, safety, consistency and efficacy.
Today, Hamdard Pakistan produces a broad portfolio of herbal medicines, prescribed remedies, consumer healthcare products and natural wellness solutions. Its medicines address a wide range of health needs, while familiar consumer names such as Safi, Carmina, Sualin, Joshanda, Isapghol and Naunehal have become part of everyday health routines.
Research and development remain essential to this work. Hamdard’s task is to not only carry out traditional knowledge but to improve its delivery and make it useful to contemporary consumers without losing the principles on which it was built. The movement from Wellness to Wellbeing captures that wider ambition. A remedy can support an individual’s wellness. Wellbeing also requires access to care, education, economic security and institutions capable of serving people over time.
The story inside the bottle
Rooh Afza’s history may have began before Pakistan. The drink became a household presence because it answered practical and cultural needs at once. It offered refreshment in a hot climate, complemented milk and desserts, and became closely associated with Ramadan and hospitality. Its endurance offers a useful lesson in brand heritage. Familiarity is not created by age alone. It is earned through repeated use. Rooh Afza remains relevant because families continue to find a place for it in their lives.
That place now extends across borders. In the UAE, a glass served at iftar or to visiting friends can connect several generations at the same table. An older family member may remember Pakistan. A younger one may know the country partly through the habits maintained at home. The taste is shared, but the memories attached to it are different.
Hamdard Pakistan continues to develop that consumer relationship through new beverage expressions, personal care, family wellness and the launch of Hamdard Foods. The expansion into food and nutrition brings the institution’s health philosophy into the kitchen, where many decisions about wellbeing are made each day.
Healthcare where it is needed
The wider Hamdard story becomes clearer beyond its products. The first Hamdard Matab began serving patients in Karachi in June 1948. Consultation and diagnosis were provided without charge, and patients paid only for medicines. The model has since grown into a nationwide network of Matabs where trained Hakims provide Unani healthcare.
Naimat Begum Hamdard University General Hospital in Karachi gives low-cost care to thousands. It even includes a special ward for the transgender community, showing Hamdard Pakistan’s belief in care for all. Hamdard University Hospital, Taj Medical Complex Ltd, is situated on M.A. Jinnah Road in the heart of Karachi making it easy for city residents. With robust facilities and multiple specialties, it actively accommodates hundreds of patients daily, offering both subsidized and free care through welfare programs, and serves as a major care facility especially for underserved populations of Karachi and beyond. Shifa-ul-Mulk Memorial Hospital serves people in small towns near Madinat Al-Hikmah. Mobile dispensaries visit areas (rural and urban), who don’t have access to health care. Across Pakistan, 43 clinics (Matabs) offer traditional medicine through trained Hakims. These clinics help keep the heritage of healing alive.
From healing to education
Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said understood that public health and education could not be separated from national progress. He created Madinat Al-Hikmah as a City of Education, Science and Culture, and founded Hamdard University in 1991. The University now serves students across a wide range of disciplines through campuses in Karachi and Islamabad.
Hamdard Foundation Pakistan also supports schools, scholarships and intellectual programmes. Hamdard Naunehal has introduced generations of children to reading, language and general knowledge. The Hamdard Naunehal Assembly encourages young people to speak and participate. Hamdard Shura brings informed voices together to discuss national issues and may give solutions for them.
The purpose is not to attach the Hamdard name to institutions. It is to create places where knowledge can continue to produce public value.
Public welfare as a permanent mandate
The model developed supports programmes in health, education, relief and livelihoods. Hamdard Foundation Pakistan gives food, groceries, blankets in winter, scholarships, vocational training and practical means of earning, including sewing machines and rickshaws and skill training to help people stand on their own. It also provides relief to those affected by natural disasters every year.
The Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said Awards are held every second year. This is where people from different fields are nominated and honored with awards for their hard work and achievements in various categories, such as education, lifetime achievement, sports, literature, health and the likes especially the unsung heroes of Pakistan.
The institution behind the memory
Under the guidance and leadership of Sadia Rashid’s, Hamdard Pakistan continues to develop new products, categories and public initiatives. Its future depends on the same balance that shaped its past: tradition and individual wellness to wellbeing of the society.
For many people, the first encounter with Hamdard Pakistan may still be a bottle of Rooh Afza. That familiarity is valuable. It opens the door to a fuller story. It has helped build bridges between Pakistan and other nations.
Hamdard Pakistan is not just a brand, it is a legacy of faith, vision, and patriotism. From one man’s dream to a household name in every corner of Pakistan. Its journey is deeply tied to Pakistan’s own – born together, grown together, and forever united in purpose.
LIVE PAKISTAN, LOVE PAKISTAN
Happy Independence Day, Pakistan.