GILGIT: Provincial Finance Minister Engineer Muhammad Ismail has stated that steps are being taken to restore the health cards in Gilgit Baltistan. He assured that health cards will be restored soon.
On Friday, while addressing the Gilgit Baltistan Legislative Assembly in response to a notice from opposition member Kaneez Fatima, he stated that restoration of cards is a significant issue. In other three provinces Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa the health cards has already been restored.
In this regard, the provincial government has been in communication with the federal government, and a meeting has also been held with relevant federal officials.
He further explained that 50% of the funds for the health card are provided by the federal government, while the remaining 50% is covered by the provincial government. Based on this formula, the health card can also be restored in Gilgit-Baltistan. The minister added that the provincial government is working on securing its share of the funds, after which they will discuss with the federal government to release their portion. Additionally, the matter will be brought before the provincial cabinet for approval.
Former Law Minister Syed Sohail Abbas noted that the absence of the health card is negatively affecting the poor in Gilgit-Baltistan. He stated that an amount of 300 to 400 million rupees is needed to fund the health card, which is not a very large sum. He suggested that this amount could be raised by making small cuts from the members’ development funds.
Earlier, Kaneez Fatima submitted a motion, drawing the government’s attention to the matter. She pointed out that the previous provincial government had introduced the health card in Gilgit-Baltistan, but now the people are deprived of this facility. She urged the provincial government to negotiate with the federal government to restore the health card in Gilgit-Baltistan, as it has been in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab.
