Islamabad (TNS)—On one hand, millions of impoverished citizens in Punjab are being stripped of access to basic healthcare, while on the other, the same government funded by their taxes is showering its elite bureaucrats and police officials with extravagant perks. As of June 30, 2025, the Punjab government has officially discontinued the Sehat Sahulat Card — a health insurance scheme that once provided free medical treatment to citizens across public and private hospitals.
Under the revised policy, this vital public healthcare program is now limited only to a select list of diseases such as kidney, liver, and bone transplants, dialysis, corneal and cochlear implants, and pediatric cardiac surgeries. Meanwhile, private hospital treatment has already shifted to a co-payment model, requiring patients to cover up to 40% of medical costs — a cost many poor families simply cannot afford. While the government claims this move is meant to “focus resources” and “optimize” healthcare delivery, the reality on the ground paints a much darker picture: the most vulnerable are being left to suffer without basic medical support.
Simultaneously, over the past two years (2023–2025), Punjab’s top officials have been handed luxurious benefits unprecedented in scale. Every Commissioner, RPO (Regional Police Officer), DPO (District Police Officer), and DCO (District Coordination Officer) has reportedly been provided with brand-new Toyota Fortuners, while SSPs, SDPOs, and Assistant Commissioners have received Vigo pickup trucks worth up to PKR 10 million each. Lavish official residences measuring 40 kanals (nearly 5 acres) have become standard, with Sahiwal’s Commissioner enjoying a staggering 105-kanal residence. In Lahore, DIGs have been allotted 2-kanal homes, and Additional IGs have been given expansive 4-kanal homes on Bedian Road.
While ordinary citizens are struggling to afford basic medicines, surgeries, and emergency care, elite officials are being granted multimillion-rupee vehicles, palatial estates, and state-sponsored luxury. This is not just financial mismanagement — it is systemic injustice.
Adding insult to injury, Punjab has witnessed numerous high-profile corruption cases over the past two years. These include a PKR 225 million scam in the Sahiwal Education Department involving fake appointments and forged billing; a PKR 66.6 million overpayment scandal in Rawalpindi’s Health Authority; and a massive PKR 12.3 billion bribery case against former Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and his son, filed by the National Accountability Bureau. In October 2023, Punjab’s Director of Local Fund Audit, Amir Saeed, was accused of embezzling over PKR 400 million — yet no meaningful action has been taken.
In March 2025, the Punjab Public Accounts Committee forwarded 18 corruption cases from the previous PTI government era to the Anti-Corruption Establishment, signaling the depth and breadth of institutional rot.
At a time when the state should be reinforcing its social safety nets, particularly healthcare, it has instead chosen to enrich the privileged few while stripping the many of their basic rights. This is not merely a governance failure — it is a moral crisis.
