Islamabad, Jan 28, 2026: Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal has acknowledged that healthcare services at hospitals empanelled under the Prime Minister’s Health Card scheme in Gilgit-Baltistan need significant improvement.
Speaking during a meeting with ministers for health and information from Gilgit-Baltistan, the federal minister said that the Prime Minister’s Health Card had now been launched in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to ensure free and quality medical treatment for citizens.
Mustafa Kamal stated that he would personally visit Gilgit-Baltistan to review the performance and facilities of hospitals included in the health card panel.
“Our priority is to ensure that permanent residents of Gilgit-Baltistan receive free and quality healthcare services without any hurdles,” he said.
The provincial ministers briefed the federal minister on challenges facing the health sector in the region, including infrastructure gaps and service delivery issues at panel hospitals. The federal minister assured them that the government is utilizing all available resources to strengthen healthcare facilities in both Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.
He said that the federal government had provided three vehicles to Gilgit-Baltistan to support health-related operations.
He added that services offered under the health card scheme would be closely monitored and improved where necessary.
The Prime Minister’s Health Card for Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir was officially launched on January 17 by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, along with Health Minister Mustafa Kamal.
The initiative is a continuation of the health card program originally introduced in 2016 and is expected to benefit nearly 10 million people by providing free medical treatment at the time of need.