LAHORE: Millions of patients have benefited in specialized hospitals of Punjab, where surgeries have been performed, while free medicines worth billions of rupees have been provided in these hospitals.
An important meeting was held at the Punjab Health Initiative Management Company under the chairmanship of Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique regarding the Chief Minister’s health initiatives.
The minister was briefed about the monitoring framework of various health projects, service delivery and steps taken for the convenience of patients. During the meeting, public feedback regarding new and unique health projects was also reviewed.
Provincial Health Minister stressed the importance of ensuring transparency in flagship programs, improving the quality of service and ensuring the best monitoring for the convenience of patients. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that progress is underway on the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Cancer Patient Card in Punjab. Progress is also underway on special programs for cancer and additional cardiac surgery.
Under the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Program, more than 11,200 innocent children have been done completely free of charge across the province at a cost of billions of rupees, Alhamdulillah. Under the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Program, 450 children from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 262 from Azad Kashmir, 110 from Islamabad, 29 from Balochistan, 40 from Gilgit-Baltistan and 27 from Sindh have so far undergone free cardiac surgeries.
Under the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Transplant Program, 1,405 transplants have been performed so far, including 737 renal transplants, 390 cochlear, 230 liver, 16 bone marrow and 32 corneal transplants.
Under the Chief Minister’s Dialysis Program, more than 1.478 million patients have been treated for free dialysis so far. More than 37,183 thousand patients have been registered in hospitals for dialysis under the Chief Minister’s Dialysis Program so far.
The health minister further said that recruitment of thousands of new doctors and nurses on 100 percent merit is also being implemented through the Punjab Public Service Commission. After the approval of the provincial cabinet, doctors are also being recruited on ad hoc basis in various hospitals.
Very soon, the commitment to save the lives of thousands of patients will be fulfilled by activating the OPD block of the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research. All resources are being utilized to make the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology in Lahore functional very soon and provide the best health facilities to the people of Punjab, the minister said.
Khawaja Salman Rafique visited the house of the late famous actor Shujaat Hashmi. He met the family of the deceased and expressed deep sorrow and grief over his demise. He prayed for forgiveness for the deceased and for patience for the bereaved family. He paid tribute to the professional services of Shujaat Hashmi.
Khawaja Salman said that Shujaat Hashmi has immortalized characters with his art. The deceased had a special interest in the poetry of Allama Iqbal (RA). The deceased was a person of high qualities.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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