Affordable healthcare is a major concern for most of the ordinary or lower class families in Pakistan. A regular visit to the hospital generally means arranging expenses for tests, medicines, doctor’s fees and even surgery in the worst circumstances. The majority of the people in Pakistan have put off the treatment at some point in life, simply because they are unable to afford it.
The reopening of Pak-China Friendship Hospital in Islamabad, therefore, deserves special attention and appreciation. On October 29, 2026, Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the hospital and made an announcement that the patients will receive complete free of cost treatment.
The Prime Minister gave clear instructions during the ceremony. Patients will not pay for medicines, medical procedures or other treatment-related expenses. The government will take care of the bills. This is an important commitment, particularly for people who have to think about every rupee before spending it. For them, free treatment is not just a government announcement. It means they can walk into a hospital and focus on getting better instead of worrying about how they will pay.
There is also a story behind this hospital that deserves to be mentioned. China provided Pakistan with the Isolation Hospital and Infectious Treatment Centre (IHITC) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The facility was built in a short period to help Pakistan deal with the health emergency. However, after the pandemic, the hospital remained closed for years. It is difficult to understand why a facility built with such effort and investment stayed unused for so long. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that he learned about its condition through a newspaper report. He then asked Federal Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal to take the necessary steps to reopen it. During the inauguration, he also apologized to Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong for the delay in putting China’s gift to use.
The hospital has now been converted into a general healthcare facility with 182 beds, which includes 50 ICU beds. The conversion of this hospital into a general medical facility means that it will serve patients with different medical needs rather than being limited to infectious disease treatment. The location of Pak-China Friendship Hospital is in Islamabad, which also makes it accessible to people who live in nearby areas and other regions. Patients from Rawalpindi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir can benefit from this hospital the most. People are not required to travel long distances or depend entirely on already crowded hospitals now, when another public facility is available.
The Pakistani government has handed over the hospital’s management to the Indus Hospital and Health Network (IHHN) via a public-private partnership. Under this arrangement, the government will pay for patient care, while IHHN will manage the hospital and its medical services. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated the organization’s work and praised its President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Abdul Bari Khan.
IHHN already has considerable experience in this field. The IHHN network includes 15 hospitals, 140 primary healthcare centres, four blood centres and four physical rehabilitation centres across Pakistan. Dr Abdul Bari Khan said that these facilities serve around 700,000 patients each month. Managing a hospital is a demanding responsibility, and an organization with an existing network of this size brings useful experience to the project. The important thing is to make sure patients receive the same attention and care that the government has promised.
Shehbaz Sharif has also directed the authorities to arrange an independent third-party performance audit. The audit is a very wise decision in which the auditors will independently examine the hospital’s administration, medical services and overall performance.
The construction of the hospital also shows how much effort went into the original project. In 2020, the Frontier Works Organization (FWO), with support from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the National Institute of Health (NIH), completed the facility in only 40 days. China contributed $4 million, while the total construction cost was approximately Rs980 million. Pakistan named it the Pak-China Friendship Hospital to acknowledge China’s contribution. The Prime Minister also mentioned Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vision of cooperation and shared responsibility for human welfare.
Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong welcomed the reopening and appreciated the cooperation between the two countries. He also spoke about strengthening bilateral relations during the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Projects such as this hospital give a more direct meaning to that relationship. Friendship between countries becomes more valuable when its benefits reach ordinary citizens, particularly those who need public services the most.
Another announcement made during the ceremony concerned cancer treatment. Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal said that a 200-bed cancer hospital at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) had been prepared. The government plans to make it operational next year. Cancer treatment is expensive, and many families struggle to manage its cost. The new facility will add much-needed capacity to the public healthcare system.
The reopening of the Pak-China Friendship Hospital is great news for the people of Pakistan. The government now needs to make sure that the facility continues to provide free and reliable treatment. The staff, medicines and equipment also needs regular attention. The hospital remained closed for years despite the investment behind it. This time, it must remain open and serve its purpose. For patients who cannot afford private hospitals, that is what will make this project worth the effort.