M UZ A F FA R A B A D: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq on Friday approved the release of Rs50 million from the Zakat profit fund to cover the medical treatment costs of the state`s helpless, destitute and impoverished individuals in public-sector hospitals in Pakistan.

This amount was allocated for the treatment of life-threatening diseases that could not be treated within Azad Kashmir under a transparent and specified mechanism approved by the cabinet, an official said.

Chaudhry Muhammad Razzaque, the Chief Administrator of the Department of Zakat and Ushr, told Dawn that there were many poor patients in the state suffering from fatal diseases, such as heart ailments, cancer, and kidney failure, which could not be treated in government hospitals in AJK.

Such patients were unable to afford the treatment costs even in public-sector hospitals in Pakistan, resulting in many facing fatal consequences, he said.

He asserted that the government had established a transparent system through the Department of Zakat and Ushr to facilitate the treatment of such underprivileged patients in Pakistan.

Under this system, any indigent person certified as such by their local Zakat and Ushr committee would obtain a referral from an AJK government hospital for treatment at a publicsector hospital in Pakistan.

The cost estimate for the treatment, obtained from the respective medical institution in Pakistan through its head, wouldthen be presented to the medical board at the district health office (DHO) of the patient`s district for verification.

The board would confirm that the disease could not be treated within AJK and that the treatment estimate was accurate.

Previously, such cases were sent to the prime minister also the chairman of the Zakat Profit Fund Board for approval after verification by the medical board.

However, the current prime minister relinquished this discretionary authority and delegated it to a three-member committee comprising the Secretary of Zakat and Ushr, the Chief Administrator of Zakat and Ushr, and the Director General of Health, Mr Razzaque said.

Under the revised procedure, this governmental committee would approve the release of funds after verification by the concerned medical board.

The amount would then be directly paid in advance to the head of the respective medical institution in Pakistan through a crossed cheque, he added.

He clarified that if any funds remained unspent after the treatment, the institution concerned would return them to his department.

Additionally, the AJK government would conduct an annual audit of the medical facility in Pakistan to the extent of the amount provided for the treatment of its needy citizens to ensure proper and transparent utilization of public money.

He said efforts had been made to ensure that available resources were distributed equitably among different parts of the state, enabling as many impoverished patients as possible to benefit.