KARACHI: Patient services at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) received a major boost on Friday when a state-of-the-art Outpatient Department (OPD) block was inaugurated by Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

Built at a cost of Rs1.2 billion under public-private partnership, the project had been pending for the past several years.

According to officials, the new OPD block – constructed with the support of civil society organisations on the land provided by the provincial government – has a capacity to cater to 2,800 to 3,000 patients daily and offers all facilities related to medical investigation under one roof. The project had been pending since 2016.

Speaking on the occasion, the PPP chairman highlighted the major post-18th Amendment initiatives taken by the government in the health sector.

“Our performance speaks volumes about the tremendous progress made in this sector. It’s indeed much better than the federal government’s,” he said, while reaffirming government commitment to providing free of cost treatment.

Tax reforms

Mr Bhutto-Zardari once again underscored the urgent need for comprehensive tax reforms in the country.

He called for delegating greater taxation authority to the provinces in line with the principle of devolution, arguing that empowering lower tiers of government is essential for improving tax collection.

The federal government continues to face financial crises because the Federal Board of Revenue and other federal institutions are failing to meet their responsibilities, he said.

He said that a former prime minister used to go from city to city claiming that the federation had gone bankrupt and that the reason for this was the financial resources given to the provinces.

The PPP chairman said that even now, some ministers in the current federal government believe that the powers and resources devolved to the provinces under devolution should be taken back.

He emphasised that there is a far better way to resolve the challenges faced by the federation. He said that compared to the FBR tax collection performance, the provinces have achieved remarkable success. He added that ever since Sindh began collecting the Sales Tax on Services under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, it has surpassed the federal government’s record. He noted that, apart from Sindh, both Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also broken the federal government’s tax collection record.

The PPP chief proposed that, in addition to Sales Tax on Services collections, the authority to collect other taxes should also be delegated to the provinces.

“We are ready to collect taxes for the federation. We believe that if the federation sets us a target, we will achieve it and deposit the entire amount with the federal government so that it can meet its needs,” he said.

Offering further assurance, he said, “If for any reason we fail to meet the target set by the FBR, we are ready to compensate the federation from our own share.”

He added that if the provinces collect more taxes than the targets assigned by the federal government, then the additional funds should be given to the provinces so they can spend more on the welfare of their people.

He appreciated the medical staff associated with the NICVD, stating that the institute had seen major expansion in recent years and now had turned into world’s largest cardiac network with satellite centres operating in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sehwan, Tando Muhammad Khan and Mithi, while several chest pain units had been set up in Karachi to meet growing patient needs.

CM announces plan for $17m medical tower at NICH

At the ceremony, the Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah announced that the government in partnership with Faisal Edhi had planned to construct a medical tower at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH). Of the total $17 million required for its construction, he informed the audience, $10m had already been secured while the rest would be provided by the government.

“This demonstrates how our partnership with philanthropists and healthcare professionals is making progress,” he said, while acknowledging philanthropy’s pivotal role.

He praised the chief executives of NICVD, NICH and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), past and present, for managing the growth well.

“Philanthropists are now raising more money than the government is matching, often requesting less than they are entitled to. Recent examples show the foundation collected $20m for an emergency tower at JPMC but only asked the government for $15m of the matching funds,” he recalled.

In his remarks, NICVD Director Prof Tahir Saghir expressed his gratitude to the government and all civil society organisations for their support.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2025