MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has welcomed the establishment of a hospital in Azad Kashmir for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, saying that there is no greater task than serving suffering humanity, and 24-hour facilities should be ensured for the treatment of patients.
According to details, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Kashmir Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Oncology and Radiotherapy (Kanwar) in Muzaffarabad yesterday, said that he was happy that a hospital was established in Azad Kashmir for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer, before which patients had to travel hundreds of miles, which was painful and expensive.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Azad Kashmir Chief Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal and Rana Sanaullah, Amir Muqam, Azad Kashmir Assembly members, Chairman Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, professors, surgeons, and faculty members.
Shahbaz Sharif thanked the Atomic Energy Commission, SPD, philanthropists, and doctors who played a role in the establishment of the hospital. The Prime Minister said that he himself has been a cancer patient and is well aware of the difficulties of treating this disease. He directed that modern resources and means should be used to treat patients, and the facilities should be functional 24 hours a day.
Earlier, the Prime Minister inaugurated the hospital and medical college by unveiling a plaque, inspected various departments and machinery of the hospital, and also took a briefing about the facilities for diagnosing and treating the disease.
Chairman Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Raja Ali Raza Anwar said that 21 hospitals of the Atomic Energy Commission are working for the treatment of cancer across the country, including Azad Kashmir, and about one million patients are treated annually. He said that 60 percent of the patients are in the last stage, and the establishment of this hospital will make treatment possible at the local level.
DG International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Mariano Grossi, speaking through video link, said that the number of cancer patients is increasing, and it is expected to increase by 75 percent by 2050. He said that more than 10 million people in the world are suffering from this disease, and the establishment of the hospital in Azad Kashmir is an important milestone.
