ISLAMABAD: In a major step towards positioning Pakistan as a regional destination for affordable, quality healthcare, the federal government has constituted a National Health Tourism Working Group to formulate a comprehensive National Health Tourism Development Strategy aimed at attracting international patients and promoting the country’s healthcare sector globally.
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), the working group has been established following a decision taken during a meeting on Pakistan’s medical tourism industry held at the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) on May 12. The body has been tasked with developing a coordinated national framework for health tourism and submitting its recommendations within 30 working days.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Prime Minister’s National Health Programme, Muhammad Arshad, will head the working group as chair, while the managing director of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) will serve as co-chair. The PTDC will also function as the Secretariat, responsible for coordinating meetings, stakeholder engagement and implementation follow-up.
The multi-sectoral working group comprises senior representatives from the Ministries of National Health Services, Inter-Provincial Coordination, Foreign Affairs and Interior, the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), provincial health and tourism departments, private hospitals, digital health experts, tourism operators, business leaders and representatives of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Prominent members from the private healthcare sector include Prof Dr Farhan Essa Abdullah, Chairman of Essa Laboratory and a leading healthcare entrepreneur, alongside representatives from Aga Khan University Hospital, Rehman Medical Institute (RMI), Shifa International Hospital, Riphah University Health Group, Farooq Hospital Group, Akbar Niazi Hospital, Kulsum International Hospital, Digi Trends and other healthcare institutions. Former Surgeon General of Pakistan Maj Gen (retd) Iftikhar Satti has also been included in the working group.
The notification states that the working group will prepare a National Health Tourism Development Strategy covering strategic objectives, priority areas, an implementation roadmap and an institutional framework. The strategy will be presented to the federal minister for National Health Services, the federal minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination and the leadership of the SIFC before being submitted to the prime minister and the federal cabinet for approval.
Among its key policy priorities, the working group will develop recommendations on medical visa policies and guidelines, international hospital accreditation standards for health tourism, establishment of a one-window Pakistan Health Tourism Portal, global marketing of the “Heal in Pakistan” brand and creation of an industry-driven Pakistan Health Travel Council to oversee governance of the sector.
The strategy also seeks to strengthen regulatory mechanisms, simplify procedures for overseas patients seeking treatment in Pakistan and create internationally accepted standards that would enhance confidence in Pakistani healthcare institutions. The working group has been authorised to co-opt additional experts and institutions whenever required for the effective completion of its mandate.
Health experts believe Pakistan possesses significant untapped potential in medical tourism due to its internationally trained specialists, modern tertiary-care hospitals and comparatively low treatment costs in areas such as cardiac care, organ transplantation, oncology, orthopaedics, fertility treatment, ophthalmology and laboratory diagnostics. They say a coordinated national policy could help attract patients from South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and the Pakistani diaspora while generating foreign exchange, creating employment and encouraging further investment in the healthcare sector.
The working group will remain functional until completion of its assigned mandate or until further orders from the competent authority, according to the notification.
