The Man Behind Kashmir Lifelines

He may not perform surgeries, but his decisions shape the survival of thousands across Kashmir's largest public hospitals.

- Gowher Bhat

The corridors of Government Medical College Srinagar are always awake. They echo with hurried footsteps, whispered prayers, and the steady hum of machines fighting for breath.

On most days, the smell of antiseptic hangs in the air, mixed with the smell of fear. In these hallways, where time bends between life and loss, one man's presence seems to hold things together.

His name is Mohammad Ashraf Hakak, and though few patients know his title, everyone feels his influence.

As the Administrator of GMC Srinagar and its associated hospitals, one of Kashmir's largest and most demanding healthcare networks, Hakak's job is to keep the system running.

That means managing doctors, nurses, supply chains, sanitation, and patient flow for thousands every day. But his true skill lies in something harder to define: keeping people, and hope, steady when everything else feels uncertain.

Public healthcare in Kashmir has always been a test of endurance. The region's topography isolates rural communities. Winters cut off access to major hospitals, while emergency health situation often interrupts services. GMC Srinagar, with its web of teaching and referral hospitals, absorbs most of this pressure.

On any given day, its wards overflow with patients from Kashmir countryside. Families travel hours for treatment that can't wait.

Running such a system demands presence.

Staff say Hakak walks the corridors as if the buildings themselves rely on his rhythm. He listens before he acts, asks questions others skip, and treats every staff member, from senior surgeon to sanitation worker, as essential to the mission. "He doesn't manage from an office," says a resident doctor. "He's there when things get tough. That's when you see real leadership."