Punjab govt building first complete free cancer hospital in Pakistan: Minister Salman

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th May, 2026) Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique on Wednesday said that the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research Center would be the first complete free government cancer hospital in Pakistan where no patient would be denied treatment.

He expressed these views while visiting the under-construction hospital along with Chairman board and former Chief Secretary Punjab Captain (retd) Zahid Saeed and Health Economist Dr. Muhammad Adnan Khan to review the ongoing progress of the project.

Khawaja Salman Rafique said that, Insha Allah, level three and level four cancer patients would also receive free treatment at the hospital. He said the Punjab government was establishing the 915-bed state-of-the-art Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research in Lahore at an estimated cost of Rs75 billion. He added that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif was continuously monitoring the progress of the project, while construction work was continuing round the clock.

The minister said the cancer institute would include pediatric oncology, operation theaters, 10 radiation therapy bunkers, an ICU and a 30-bed emergency ward. He added that a waiting hall and 24 residential beds for patients would also be constructed. According to him, the main building in the first phase would house a bone marrow center, cancer care clinic, doctors’ quarters and a mosque, while a new 300-bed building and parking plaza would be built in the second phase.

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He said radiation therapy, chemotherapy, endoscopy and several other facilities would be available at the country’s first government cancer hospital. Patients from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and other provinces would also be treated free of cost, he added.

Khawaja Salman Rafique said the Nawaz Sharif Cancer Hospital was not only a project for Punjab but for the entire country. He remarked that cancer treatment exhausted the accumulated savings of not only poor and middle-class families but also wealthy people.

Chairman Board Captain (retd) Zahid Saeed said efforts were being made to complete the first phase of the hospital at the earliest, adding that the progress of the project was being reviewed regularly.

Health Economist Dr. Muhammad Adnan Khan said IDAP had been directed to make the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research functional within the stipulated time. He said thousands of cancer patients would gain access to international-standard healthcare facilities through the unique project.

Vice Chancellor King Edward Medical University Professor Dr. Mahmood Ayaz, Additional Secretary Technical Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Waseem, CEO IDAP Captain (retd) Shah Mir Iqbal, the project director and other officials were also present on the occasion. The delegation reviewed the progress at the project site and received a detailed briefing from the officers concerned.