Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said none of the governments in the past had taken the bold decision of providing Rs1 million health insurance to the entire population, as he launched the distribution of Naya Pakistan National Sehat Cards for Punjab starting from Lahore.
The cards will enable every family in the province to avail medical treatment of up to Rs1 million per year at both government and private hospitals.
Addressing the launching ceremony, the premier said that this was a “revolutionary step”.
PM Imran lauded the Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, the health minister and the whole team involved in the project.
"The Punjab government has moved on a course that will uplift the country in pursuance of the forefathers’ vision to make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state,” he added.
The premier further said under the programme, about 30 million families would benefit from the health insurance facility, which would cost Rs400 billion to the government.
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"Our forefathers had dreamed to make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state but unfortunately it could not be developed on that course.”
He added that unfortunately, no welfare state was formed in the Muslim world after Madina and, in fact, the Scandinavian states were closer to that model
"Denmark, Norway and Sweden always believed in inclusive growth and had compassion for the weaker segment," he observed.
"Any individual or nation abiding by the teachings of Allah Almighty will get His blessings.”
He claimed that Pakistan had more resources than all the Scandinavian countries but they were more prosperous by having adopted the model of a welfare state.
“Today, the Punjab government took a step to put the country on the course of uplifting this nation… We want to turn Pakistan [into] what it was established for. If we don’t opt for that course, it will be great treachery with the Indian Muslims who had voted for it.”
The premier added that some leaders in the past had claimed to make Pakistan an Asian Tiger, which could in no way be greater than the idea of a welfare state like that of Madina.
The prime minister told the gathering that time would prove that the initiative of Sehat Card, involving almost equal funding, would have far better outcomes than Metro buses or Orange Train.
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He said all families across the province would receive the Sehat Card by March and also resolved to replicate the model in Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The prime minister said the Sehat Card would lead towards the development of health infrastructure across the province. “It will attract the private sector to build hospitals even in remote areas.”
He also said the government will incentivise the private sector by allowing duty-free import of medical equipment to expand the network of private hospitals.
The prime minister told the gathering that a silent revolution was in the making through the government’s initiative of housing construction loans by banks for the salaried class after the government removed all the impediments.
He said people had applied for loans worth Rs260 billion out of which Rs110 billion had been approved and Rs34 billion disbursed already.
Under the Kamyab Pakistan Programme, PM Imran mentioned that around two million people had been given interest-free loans for building their homes.
Moreover, a loan of Rs0.5 million was also being given to the farmers and others to establish their own businesses.
Through the Ehsaas Ration scheme, almost 54% of the population was being given a 30% subsidy on the purchase of ghee, flour and pulses.
Earlier, the prime minister distributed Sehat Cards among the beneficiaries.
(With input from APP)
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