Overview
- Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal announced the mandatory national screening programme on Tuesday, beginning with compulsory tests for Ministry of Health staff and letters sent to other federal ministries.
- The federal plan includes enforcement measures for non‑compliant government employees, with the minister warning that salaries could be withheld from those who refuse testing.
- Operational steps under way include 17 active screening points in Islamabad, provision of testing kits and digital devices to private hospitals, prioritised testing for people aged 12 and above, and screening requirements for deportees and flights for three months.
- The screening system has been linked to NADRA records and uses Pakistan Bureau of Statistics census software, while Punjab province has not yet shared required data and federal officials say they will pursue it.
- Under the Prime Minister’s programme patients found positive will receive free treatment valued at about Rs68,000 each as part of a broader drive to identify an estimated 10–11 million infections and reduce future liver disease and cancer.