LAHORE, Sept 9: The Punjab Planning and Development Department approved on Tuesday the PC-I of the Multan Institute of Cardiology to be built at a cost of Rs781 million.

The PC-1 was approved at a meeting chaired by P&D chairman Humayun Farshori. Punjab Health Secretary Shahid Rasheed and MIC project director Prof Dr Naeem Tareen were prominent among the other participants.

Defending the MIC’s case, Prof Tareen said the institute would be developed on the pattern of the Texas Heart Institute, USA. It would include 150-bed cardiac unit, two angiography laboratories, and other state-of-the-art facilities and latest surgical equipment to treat the patients.

PIMH: Meanwhile, the P&D department did not approve the PC-I for establishing a 100-bed acute care psychiatric unit at the Punjab Institute of Mental Health.

Medical Superintendent of the Punjab Institute of Mental Health Brig Dr Saeed A Akhtar (retired), who has been redesignated as executive director, reportedly failed to defend the project.

The establishment of the 100-bed unit was promised by Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool at a meeting held at the institute.

Opinion

Editorial

On press freedoms
Updated 03 May, 2026

On press freedoms

THE citizenry forgets, to its own peril, how important a free and independent media is in the preservation of their...
Inflation strain
03 May, 2026

Inflation strain

PAKISTAN’S return to double-digit inflation after 21 months signals renewed economic strain where external shocks...
Troubled waters
03 May, 2026

Troubled waters

PAKISTAN’S water crisis is often framed in terms of scarcity. Increasingly, it is also a crisis of contamination....
Iran stalemate
Updated 02 May, 2026

Iran stalemate

THE US and Iran are currently somewhere between war and peace. While a tenuous ceasefire — extended largely due to...
Tax shortfall
02 May, 2026

Tax shortfall

THE Rs684bn shortfall in tax collection during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is a continuation of a...
Teaching inclusion
02 May, 2026

Teaching inclusion

DISCRIMINATORY and exclusionary content in Punjab’s textbooks has been flagged in Inclusive Education for a United...