ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday inaugurated the revamped Pakistan-China Friendship Hospital, 8 directing the health authorities to ensure provision of free, quality healthcare to patients from across the country.
The PM stressed that public resources must be utilised to serve humanity rather than allowed to go to waste through institutional neglect.
Federal Minister of National Health Services and Regulations Mustafa Kamal briefed the Prime Minister on the occasion, and said that originally the facility gifted by China during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Isolation Hospital and Infectious Treatment Centre (IHITC) had become non-operational after the pandemic subsided, and remaining closed for years. Its revival under the new name of Pakistan-China Friendship Hospital aims to restore a valuable national asset and provide modern medical services to patients, particularly those unable to afford expensive treatment.
During the visit, the prime interacted with patients, reaffirming his government’s commitment to ensuring free treatment through professionally managed healthcare facilities.
The revamped hospital has 182 beds, including 50 intensive care unit beds, and is expected to serve patients from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country.
Under the new arrangement, the government will finance patient care, while the Indus Hospital and Health Network will provide professional management and medical expertise to ensure efficient operations and high-quality services.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regretted the prolonged closure of the hospital, describing it as a painful example of neglect towards the poor and vulnerable sections of society.
He said he had taken immediate notice of the situation after learning about the hospital’s condition through a newspaper report and directed the health minister to take urgent measures to restore the facility.
The prime minister said the hospital was a generous gift from the Chinese government and people, reflecting Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vision of international cooperation and shared responsibility for human welfare. He apologised to the Chinese ambassador and the people of China for the years during which the facility remained closed.
PM Shehbaz Sharif said the government would bear 100 percent of the treatment costs, while the Indus Hospital and Health Network (IHHN) would manage the facility under a public-private partnership model.
He said his experience with hospitals managed by the network had convinced him that entrusting public healthcare facilities to competent organisations could improve service delivery, efficiency and accountability.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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