ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly was informed on Friday that as many as 3,900 children were registered as HIV-positive across the country between January 2025 and June 2026, with Sindh accounting for nearly half of the cases.
In a written reply, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said Sindh reported the highest number of cases at 1,915, followed by Punjab with 1,765, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 139, Balochistan 46, Islamabad 30, Azad Jammu and Kashmir four and Gilgit-Baltistan one, with the two largest provinces accounting for more than 94pc of the total.
The House was also informed that, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, Pakistan’s annual HIV infections had increased threefold, from 16,000 in 2010 to 48,000 in 2024.
The number of HIV screening tests had risen from 37,944 in 2020 to more than 374,000 in 2025. More than 417,000 people were estimated to be living with HIV in the country, while 92,148 had been registered with the authorities.
In a separate written reply, the minister highlighted the growing burden of mental health conditions, saying more than 32.04 million people were affected across the country.
Citing the Global Burden of Disease study, Kamal said the number of people affected was increasing, with Islamabad alone accounting for 300,000 cases in 2023.
The minister further informed the House that around nine million people in Pakistan were living with Hepatitis C and more than 3.086 million with Hepatitis B, making the country the world’s 10th most affected by Hepatitis C as per WHO report.
Responding to a calling-attention notice, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Division Osama Sarwar said four aircraft would be inducted into Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by January next year.
He said the airline had been privatised and was operating under an independent board of directors. Although the government could not direct it to operate specific routes, he assured the House that flights between Karachi and the United Kingdom would resume in January.
Mirza Ikhtiar Baig; however, criticised the government for failing to restore the Karachi-UK service while prioritising Islamabad and Lahore, despite Karachi’s position as the country’s largest business hub and a major source of passenger traffic.
Separately, the House unanimously passed a resolution moved by Shahida Rehmani calling for protection against all forms of workplace harassment, including gender-based discrimination, intimidation, humiliation and abuse of authority.
Meanwhile, the House passed four amendment bills which include the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Amendment Bill, 2026, the NFC Institute of Engineering and Technology, Multan, Amendment Bill, 2026, the National Textile University Amendment Bill, 2026, and the National Rahmatul-lil-Alameen and Khatam-un-Nabiyyin Authority Amendment Bill, 2026.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026