67,000 to Get Free OPD Care in GB

By Shabbir Mir

GILGIT: The OPD Sehat Hifazat Card programme will be launched in Gilgit on November 1 as a pilot project, providing 67,000 deserving people with free medical consultations, diagnostic tests and medicines.

Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Amjad Hussain announced this while speaking at a briefing on the programme on Thursday.

The initiative is being launched jointly by the governments of Gilgit-Baltistan and Germany, with plans to gradually extend it to other districts of the region.

The chief minister said providing quality healthcare at people's doorsteps was among the provincial government's top priorities, adding that all possible measures were being taken to ensure free medical facilities for deserving individuals.

He described the initiative as an important step towards strengthening primary healthcare in Gilgit-Baltistan and said its gradual expansion would enable more eligible people to benefit from the programme.

Amjad Hussain also said the German government had assured continued cooperation with the provincial government during the third and fourth phases of the project, which he described as a positive development for improving healthcare services in the region.

In a separate development, the chief minister directed officials to submit a detailed report on all vacant government posts within seven days and ordered that draft legislation to make the Gilgit-Baltistan Testing Service operational be presented at the next session of the provincial assembly.

He said a large number of government positions remained vacant despite the availability of the required recruitment budget. He directed the relevant authorities to ensure transparent, merit-based recruitment against all vacant posts so that eligible candidates could receive their due opportunities.