LAHORE: Inspector General of Police Punjab Abdul Kareem has approved the release of more than Rs2.966 million for the medical treatment of police personnel and their family members, a Punjab Police spokesperson said on Thursday.
The funds were cleared following scrutiny by the Medical Financial Assistance Committee, according to an official statement.
Sub-Inspector Maqbool Hussain has been granted Rs500,000 for treatment of a liver ailment, while Head Constable Abdul Aziz has been provided Rs500,000 for cancer treatment — the two largest individual awards in the tranche.
Corporal Tasawar Abbas, Constable Asif Mehboob and Constable Muhammad Jabbar have each been granted Rs200,000 towards medical treatment.
Retired Inspector Babar Saleem, Head Constable Naseer Ahmad and Constable Muhammad Abbas have each been provided Rs100,000.
DSP Amir Khan, Head Constable Rafiq Ahmad and ASI Zahid Iqbal have been provided a combined Rs400,000.
In addition, 12 other police personnel suffering from various ailments have been provided a combined amount of more than Rs650,000.
The disbursement covers 23 personnel in total, spanning ranks from constable to DSP, and includes at least one retired officer.
The inclusion of retired Inspector Babar Saleem is a detail worth noting. Medical assistance schemes in public-sector organisations frequently lapse at retirement, leaving former employees exposed at precisely the point when healthcare costs rise. Extending assistance beyond service is a meaningful design feature rather than an administrative footnote.
IG Punjab Abdul Kareem said the welfare of police personnel and their families, who remain engaged in protecting the lives and property of citizens, is a top priority.
He said that under Memorandums of Understanding with various institutions, Punjab Police is also providing medical facilities to its personnel and their families.
The MOU arrangement operates alongside direct financial grants, giving personnel access to negotiated treatment at partner institutions — a model that typically reduces out-of-pocket costs more effectively than reimbursement alone for high-cost conditions.
The distribution of the grants reflects a structural reality of the force. Constables and head constables make up the overwhelming bulk of Punjab Police strength, and their salary bands leave little capacity to absorb the cost of prolonged treatment for cancer, hepatic disease or cardiac conditions.
Cancer treatment in particular can run into several hundred thousand rupees over a course of therapy at private or semi-private facilities. Against that benchmark, a Rs500,000 grant represents substantive rather than symbolic relief for a household with no other financial cushion.
The presence of a scrutiny committee also matters. Discretionary welfare disbursement without a review mechanism has historically been vulnerable to favouritism; routing applications through the Medical Financial Assistance Committee introduces a documented approval trail.
The statement described the release as a continuation of existing welfare initiatives rather than a one-time measure, indicating that further tranches are expected as applications are processed by the committee.
Punjab Police has expanded welfare provisioning in recent years across medical assistance, education support for children of personnel and compensation for officers injured in the line of duty.
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