SKARDU, Feb 26: Siachen Brigade Commander Brig Ahmed Nawaz has said that the army is providing social service to people in Siachen area in Ghangche district besides fulfilling its professional duty to defend the ideological and geographical boundaries of the country on the 22,000ft-high battlefield.

Speaking at the conclusion of a three-day army medical camp at Daghoni village, he said his brigade was giving free treatment to people near army hospitals and establishing such camps.

He thanked the district Zakat committee chairman, district health officer, local administration and the 144-Field Ambulance Unit, Gongma, for their efforts for holding the camps.

The field ambulance unit’s Commanding Officer Col Bashir Mohammad Ishtique said 4,000 patients were treated at the camp and a population of about 25,000 benefited from it. About 160 students were trained in basic health, first aid and protection of teeth and about 30 operations were conducted, he said.—APP