ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Baitul-Mal (PBM) facilitated free medical treatment for more than 2,000 deserving patients at the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM) at a cost of approximately Rs278 million during the last three years.

Priority financial assistance which the PBM – the government-owned social safety net – provided at NIRM was for major surgeries, artificial limbs, implants, hearing aids, and speech and physical rehabilitation cases. Keeping in view the rise in prices, Baitul Mal has also enhanced the maximum assistance limit from PKR 1 million to PKR 1.5 million under its Financial Assistance Programme.

Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Syed Imran Ahmed Shah on Thursday visited the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM), where he conducted a detailed review of the medical financial assistance being provided to deserving patients under Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal.

Executive Director of NIRM Dr. Shaista Habibullah briefed the federal minister about the institute’s overall performance, patient care facilities and the support extended through Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal’s Individual Financial Assistance Programme.

The Federal Minister inspected various departments of NIRM and later visited the prosthetics laboratory, where he reviewed the process of assembling and provision of artificial limbs, orthoses, hearing aids, and other assistive devices. He termed NIRM’s rehabilitation services as critically important for persons with disabilities and individuals with special needs.

While speaking to the media, the federal minister stated that under the current government, Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal’s Individual Financial Assistance Programme has been made more effective, transparent and expansive. He informed that from 2022 to 2025, a approximately 2,267 deserving patients at NIRM received treatment and rehabilitation support through Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal, with an expenditure of approximately PKR 278 million.

The Federal Minister emphasized that the government’s clear priority is to ensure that no deserving individual is deprived of life-saving surgery or prosthetic treatment due to financial constraints. He also noted that the medical financial assistance budget of PBM has been increased from PKR 227 million in the previous fiscal year to approximately PKR 280 million in the current fiscal year, reflecting the government’s strong commitment to social protection and healthcare.

He stressed that financial assistance is provided only after case verification, medical assessment and hospital validation. He directed the Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal to establish facilitation deskat NIRM, along with improvement in online case tracking and a fully computerized administrative system. He made it clear that no negligence will be tolerated, and that PBM must resolve medical assistance cases within one month, while emergency cases should be processed through an effective fast-track mechanism.

He further announced that he would continue reviewing Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal initiatives by visiting other hospitals and universities across the country and that visits to Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are also planned in the near future to further strengthen social protection and medical assistance systems at the grassroots level.

The Federal Minister stated that the collaboration between the Ministry of Health and Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal stood as a successful example of integrating rehabilitation healthcare and social protection into a cohesive and effective system.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2026