PM Imran launches Sehat Insaf Card

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.ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday launched the Sehat Insaf Card.

Under the Sehat Insaf Card scheme, free healthcare worth Rs720,000 will be provided annually to each deserving family.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, the premier explained, "We first introduced health cards in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. If anyone family member is suffering from a disease, the entire household budget gets disrupted." 

Stating that the health cards will alleviate poverty, PM Imran said, "We want to aid and safeguard the poor segments of the society by issuing health cards."

The premier further said that those in tribal areas will also be issued the health cards.

"We will soon introduce a unified poverty alleviation programme which will be the first of its kind and include a number of organisations such as Baitul Maal and others under its umbrella," he announced.

PM Imran also announced that the government will "introduce a scheme to give house loans to the poor". "We are working on a plan for improvement using our current resources," he said.

Regarding the current hike in price of commodities, the prime minister said, "Inflation was inevitable as rupee depreciated 35%."

"We can earn $40 billion improving the tourism sector," he upheld.

Earlier, Minister for Health Aamir Mehmoud Kiani said under the Sehat Insaf Card scheme, each deserving family will be able to get medical treatment worth Rs720,000 annually and that it will cover treatment of all diseases except transplants.

"It is the first time in the country's history that such a big package has been announced for the poor," the minister for health said.

"15 million people will be provided the health cards in the next two years. This scheme is being launched in Punjab, Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, FATA and the federal capital," Kiani stated. 

"In the tribal districts, these cards will be provided to each family. In Islamabad, 85,000 families will be provided with the cards," he added. The health minister said each card holder will also be provided transportation charges of Rs1,000 on every visit to the hospital.

The health minister said three new hospitals will be established in Islamabad and the existing health facilities are also being upgraded. "A budget has been allocated for this purpose," he said.