Pakistan’s Imran Khan government has launched a ‘Naya Pakistan Sehat Card’, under which some 30 million families will be able to avail health insurance and each family will be able to spend up to Rs1 million on quality healthcare from designated public and private sector hospitals. The television and print ads for this government scheme also have the picture of a Sikh, indicating the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government’s intention to send a message about better treatment of minorities.

This is not just a health card but a healthcare system,” the Pakistan premier said while launching the scheme.” He added that “all citizens of Pakistan can avail free healthcare services worth Rs1 million per family annually at both private and government hospitals. Khan said the initiative would encourage government hospitals to offer quality healthcare while incentivising private hospitals to extend health services in more distant rural areas. The government would be spending Rs 450 billion on the first public health insurance programme for all citizens in Pakistan’s history.

The Sikh community hails such messaging by the Pakistan government, but Imran Khan and his government need to do much more to make minorities -including Sikhs, Hindus, Ahmadiyya Muslims, actually believe that they are equal citizens of Pakistan.

Last week, when Imran Khan launched the PTI’s flagship universal health coverage scheme on January 26 for the citizens of Islamabad federal territory, a local Sikh leader was also on the stage with the prime minister.

India can exert moral pressure on Pakistan by condemning the 80 versus 20 talks at the highest level. Open calls for killing Muslims at Dharam Sansads and a shameful Islamophobic agenda aimed at communalising the electoral campaign in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere must be condemned in loudest terms.

It is a shame that Punjab’s electoral campaign is being forced to listen to deafening silence from all political parties on this count.

Will Pakistan television ads shame India?