Lahore: The Jinnah Institute of Cardiology (JIC) has formally opened, adding a major new cardiac-care facility to Punjab’s public healthcare network. The institute was inaugurated on August 21, 2026, and recent government-linked reporting puts its cost at around Rs16 billion with 250 beds. It includes catheterisation and angiography facilities, MRI, modular operation theatres, cardiac wards, pathology and radiology laboratories, ICU, emergency and outpatient departments. A heart transplant centre, described by officials as Pakistan’s first, has also been opened at the institute, with the Punjab government announcing free transplant treatment for deserving patients and a dedicated funding mechanism. The JIC was originally conceived partly to ease pressure on existing cardiac hospitals, particularly the Punjab Institute of Cardiology, although any reduction in waiting times has not yet been independently measured.
