The Awami National Party (ANP) has called for an immediate and transparent investigation into alleged corruption worth billions of rupees and serious irregularities under the Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI) Act and the Sehat Card programme during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) 13-year rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Arslan Khan Nazim, spokesperson for ANP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, levelled serious allegations, claiming that the province’s hospital system had been systematically pushed towards collapse over the past 13 years under the MTI Act.
He held Dr Nowsherwan Burki, a cousin of former prime minister Imran Khan, primarily responsible for what he described as the deterioration of the administrative structure. According to the spokesperson, Burki was managing the province’s sensitive health sector remotely from the United States through WhatsApp.
The ANP spokesperson questioned when an investigation would be launched into hospital administration, financial affairs, the alleged misuse of public funds and corruption, and when those responsible would be held accountable.
He said the public had a fundamental right to know where and how the billions of rupees allocated to the health sector had been spent.
According to figures cited in the statement, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa received a total of Rs6,400 billion under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award from 2013 onwards.
Despite receiving such substantial financial resources, the spokesperson claimed, people across the province continued to face shortages of basic facilities and deteriorating public services.
Experts and political circles have argued that transparency requirements were sidelined alongside greater provincial autonomy and the flow of financial resources, resulting in public welfare projects being affected by political priorities.
Sehat card scandal and alleged irregularities
Arslan Khan Nazim alleged that irregularities and misappropriation amounting to Rs28.61 billion occurred under the Sehat Card flagship programme during Imran Khan’s tenure.
He claimed that, despite established principles of transparency, certain favoured hospitals were unnecessarily included in the Sehat Card panel.
The situation allegedly became more serious when hospitals that were not officially registered were included in the programme across 10 districts of the province.
The ANP spokesperson questioned why payments had been made to unregistered hospitals and who would be held accountable for the alleged financial irregularities.
He stressed that taxpayers’ money and the hard-earned income of citizens could not be treated as the personal property of any political party or individual, to be spent at will without scrutiny or accountability.
Call for transparent investigations and accountability
The ANP said the current situation required an impartial and transparent investigation into all health-sector expenditures, payments made under the Sehat Card programme, and the administrative and financial affairs of hospitals operating under the MTI Act.
The party demanded that all individuals found involved in corruption or abuse of authority be brought to justice without delay, calling for strict accountability to recover public money allegedly misappropriated.
The statement further argued that reform models introduced in the name of improving healthcare and public finances could produce negative outcomes when they failed to take ground realities into account.
It said that when policymaking was driven by remote decision-making and personal connections rather than local needs, increased funding did not necessarily translate into improvements at the grassroots level.
The alleged inclusion of unregistered institutions in programmes such as Sehat Card, alongside the substantial financial allocations cited in the statement, was presented as evidence of weaknesses in internal audits and regulatory checks and balances.
The ANP emphasised that sustainable development and public welfare required all financial transactions to be brought under public-accountability mechanisms and transparent oversight to ensure the effective use of public resources.
