Emergency Numbers in Pakistan and India: 1122, 112, 108 Decoded

Save these before the day you need them: in Pakistan, Rescue 1122 for ambulance and rescue, 15 for police and 115 for the Edhi ambulance; in India, 112 as the single emergency number, 108 for an ambulance and 102 for pregnancy and newborn transport. Coverage differs by city and state, so check your local service; numbers can change. Below is what to say in the first 20 seconds, what to have ready, and when to call rather than drive.

Emergency numbers in Pakistan and India at a glance

For every number above, check your local service; numbers can change, and a district may use its own line alongside them. The safest habit is to look up the numbers that work in your own city today and save them in your phone under a name you’ll find in a panic, such as “AAA Ambulance”.

Pakistan: Rescue 1122, 15 and 115

How to call Rescue 1122? Dial 1122 from any mobile or landline, like a normal call. It began in Punjab in 2004 and has since spread to many cities and districts in other provinces, but coverage is still uneven, especially in rural areas, so find out whether your district has a station. The call is free. Rescue 1122 handles medical emergencies, road crashes, fires, drowning and building collapses.

15 is the police line and works across the country. 115 reaches the Edhi Foundation’s ambulance network, which runs in many cities and along highways. Private and charity ambulance services also operate in big cities such as Karachi; their numbers vary, so save the ones your family actually trusts after checking them locally.

India: 112, 108 and 102

112 is India’s single emergency number, rolled out across the country from 2019. It connects to police, fire and ambulance through one call-taker, and many states link it to their ambulance service. 108 is the emergency ambulance number in most states, and 102 is mainly for taking pregnant women and newborns to and from hospital, free in many states. What each number covers can differ from state to state, so check your local service; numbers can change.

How to call an ambulance: what to say in the first 20 seconds

Ambulance kaise bulaye? Dial, stay calm, and give the call-taker what they need in this order. They’ll ask questions; answer those rather than telling the whole story.

1. Where you are. Area, street and a landmark: “Gulberg, main boulevard, opposite the petrol pump, white gate with a green door.” On a highway, the direction you were driving and the nearest interchange or kilometre marker.
2. What happened. “An old man has collapsed and won’t answer”, “car crash, two cars”, “child fell from the roof”.
3. How many people are hurt.
4. Breathing and awake? Say clearly if someone isn’t breathing or won’t wake. The call-taker can guide you through chest compressions.
5. Age and any known illness, such as diabetes or heart disease.
6. Give your phone number, keep the line free, and don’t hang up until they tell you to.
7. Send someone to the main road or gate to wave the ambulance in, and switch on the outside light at night.

What to have ready

• The patient’s CNIC or Aadhaar card and any hospital file
• A list of regular medicines, or the strips themselves in a bag
• In a poisoning, the packet, bottle or plant, so the hospital knows what was swallowed
• A phone and charger, some cash, and one calm adult to go along

When to call an ambulance and not drive yourself

Call rather than load someone into a car for:

• Signs of stroke: face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech, sudden loss of balance or sight. Every minute counts; see BE FAST stroke symptoms.
• Chest pain or pressure, especially with sweating, breathlessness or pain in the arm, jaw or back. Women and people with diabetes can have quieter signs; see heart attack symptoms in women and diabetics.
• A fit that lasts more than five minutes, or a second fit without waking between.
• Heavy bleeding that doesn’t slow with firm pressure.
• Serious trouble breathing, blue lips, or someone who can’t speak in full sentences.
• A fall from height or a road crash, where the neck or back may be hurt. Don’t move them unless they’re in danger.
• Anyone unconscious, or a large burn.

Why not drive? A car can’t give oxygen or restart a heart, the patient may get worse on the way, and a driver who is also frightened makes mistakes.

When a car is faster

On some roads and in some towns, an ambulance really is far away. A car can make sense if the person is awake, breathing well and able to sit, there’s no possible neck or back injury, and the hospital is close. If you go, one person drives and a second sits with the patient. Phone the hospital’s emergency department on the way, say what happened and when you’ll arrive. Know in advance which nearby hospital has a 24-hour emergency department, and which can handle heart attacks and strokes.

What an ambulance can and can’t do

Ambulances in Pakistan and India range from full emergency vehicles with trained staff, oxygen and a defibrillator to vans that mainly transport. Rescue 1122 and the 108 services train their staff in emergency care, while some charity and private vans have a driver and a stretcher and little else. Most ambulances don’t carry a doctor. What they do well is getting the patient to hospital lying down, with oxygen and basic life support on the way.

You can help them: clear the lane when you hear a siren, pull left, and never follow an ambulance closely to beat traffic. For the kit that should live in the car in case you’re the first on the scene, see our car and travel first aid kit guide. More first aid and home care sits in Desi Remedies.

Emergency numbers: common questions