GILGIT: Provincial Finance Minister Engineer Muhammad Ismail has stated that steps are being taken to restore the health cards in Gilgit Baltistan. He assured that health cards will be restored soon.
While addressing the Gilgit Baltistan Legislative Assembly in response to a notice from opposition member Kaneez Fatima, he stated that restoration of cards is a significant issue. In other three provinces Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa the health cards has already been restored.
In this regard, the provincial government has been in communication with the federal government, and a meeting has also been held with relevant federal officials.
He further explained that 50% of the funds for the health card are provided by the federal government, while the remaining 50% is covered by the provincial government. Based on this formula, the health card can also be restored in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The minister added that the provincial government is working on securing its share of the funds, after which they will discuss with the federal government to release their portion. Additionally, the matter will be brought before the provincial cabinet for approval.
Former Law Minister Syed Sohail Abbas noted that the absence of the health card is negatively affecting the poor in Gilgit-Baltistan. He stated that an amount of 300 to 400 million rupees is needed to fund the health card, which is not a very large sum. He suggested that this amount could be raised by making small cuts from the members’ development funds.
Earlier, Kaneez Fatima submitted a motion, drawing the government’s attention to the matter. She pointed out that the previous provincial government had introduced the health card in Gilgit-Baltistan, but now the people are deprived of this facility. She urged the provincial government to negotiate with the federal government to restore the health card in Gilgit-Baltistan, as it has been in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab.
Meanwhile, Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq has announced the restoration of free medical treatment through Health Cards for all residents of the state.This announcement was made during a Legislative Assembly session in the State metropolis on Monday, in response to a question from opposition leader Khawaja Farooq.
The Prime Minister stated that the health care facility would be available while adhering to the AJK budget constraints.He emphasized that providing health facilities to the people is the government’s foremost priority, though he noted that only eligible individuals would benefit from the facility.
In response to a call attention notice by former PM Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan Niazi, PM Anwar ul Haq assured that the shortage of healthcare staff would be addressed as a priority.He highlighted that efforts are being made to overcome the shortage of doctors and paramedical staff in all state-run hospitals and Basic Health Units (BHUs) located near the Line of Control (LoC).
