M. Waqar Bhatti
Islamabad: When a Turkish diplomat posted in Islamabad recently chose to have his son’s hair transplant performed at a private clinic in Pakistani capital instead of in Türkiye, the decision surprised many.
Asked why he ignored globally renowned medical tourism destinations such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, he replied that Pakistani surgeons were as skilled as their Turkish counterparts, while the procedure was considerably more affordable.
The episode reflects Pakistan’s untapped medical tourism potential, but experts question whether the country can transform isolated success stories into a thriving industry amid weak healthcare regulation, security concerns, cumbersome visa procedures and a fragile international image.
The federal government’s answer is a newly constituted National Health Tourism Working Group, headed by Muhammad Arshad, Chief Executive Officer of the Prime Minister’s National Health Programme (Sehat Sahulat Programme), to prepare a National Health Tourism Development Strategy within 30 days.
The multi-sectoral body includes representatives from SIFC, PTDC, federal ministries, provincial governments, leading hospitals and the private sector, including healthcare entrepreneur Prof. Dr. Farhan Essa Abdullah. It has been tasked with proposing reforms on medical visas, international accreditation, a one-window health tourism portal and promotion of the “Heal in Pakistan” brand.
The initiative closely mirrors recommendations made last year by Dr. Emin Çakmak, Founding Chairman of the Turkish Healthcare Travel Council, who said Pakistan could earn up to $5 billion within five years by attracting around 500,000 international patients if it created a structured healthcare tourism ecosystem. He described Pakistan as a country with “world-class doctors and surgeons, rich culture and affordable treatment options,” but stressed that it needed an institutional framework similar to Türkiye’s Healthcare Travel Council to compete globally.
Pakistan already possesses many of the ingredients required for success. It offers internationally trained specialists, advanced cardiac surgery, organ transplantation, oncology, fertility treatment, orthopaedics and cosmetic procedures at costs significantly below competing destinations. Several hospitals already receive patients from Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Middle East and the Pakistani diaspora.
Yet the country’s biggest obstacles are not clinical but institutional.
Healthcare regulation remains fragmented and weak. Islamabad’s Healthcare Regulatory Authority and provincial healthcare commissions have struggled to establish consistent quality standards, robust enforcement and internationally recognised accreditation.
Questions over institutional independence, governance and potential conflicts of interest have further undermined confidence in regulatory oversight, making it difficult to project Pakistan as a trusted destination for international patients.
Security perceptions remain another challenge. Although conditions have improved considerably over the past decade, periodic incidents of terrorism and adverse international publicity continue to shape travel decisions. Medical visa procedures, limited international marketing and the absence of integrated patient facilitation services further reduce Pakistan’s competitiveness compared with established destinations such as Türkiye, India, Thailand and Malaysia.
The new working group has recognised many of these shortcomings by proposing reforms in governance, accreditation, digital services and branding. But experts caution that policy papers alone will not build a medical tourism industry. Pakistan will need independent and credible regulation, internationally accredited hospitals, easier medical visas, aggressive global marketing, patient protection mechanisms and sustained political commitment.
Pakistan’s doctors have already demonstrated they can compete with the world’s best. The bigger question is whether the country’s institutions can inspire the same confidence.
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