“Thank you to Mustafa Kamal for turning my vision into reality,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal for turning a hospital that had stood closed for years into a modern, working healthcare facility, and praised his efforts. He said he wanted to thank Kamal for making his vision a reality, and called the hospital a lasting symbol of friendship between Pakistan and China.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the revamped Pakistan-China Friendship Hospital in Islamabad on Thursday 29 October. The 182-bed hospital began as the Isolation Hospital and Infectious Treatment Centre, which China gifted to Pakistan during the Covid-19 pandemic. It stopped operating after the pandemic eased and stayed closed for years, Pakistan Today reported.

Sharif apologised to Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong and the people of China for the years in which the facility lay idle. He directed that patients from across the country receive free, quality treatment there, and said the hospital would keep the name Pakistan-China Friendship Hospital permanently.

He also said that in 40 years of public service he had learned that handing health and education facilities to the best available management is the most effective approach.

This report was expanded on 1 November 2026 using reporting from Pakistan Today and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.