Pakistan plans Alibaba linked AI diagnostics across 1,110 hospitals
The government says AI disease screening will come to public and private hospitals under the PM Health Card Programme, with a deal with Alibaba Group expected to be signed.
The federal government plans to bring an AI powered diagnostic system to about 1,110 public and private hospitals under the Prime Minister's Health Card Programme. ProPakistani reported the plan on 15 July 2026.
The system is meant to give faster and more accurate diagnosis of complex diseases, including cancer and neurological disorders. Officials say it could reach nearly 200 million people. They also believe it could cut diagnostic costs and save the government billions of rupees. These are official projections and have not been independently checked.
According to a statement from the Press Information Department, Alibaba linked DAMO Academy and a company called Sky47 would deploy AI screening systems in major cities. ProPakistani reported that an agreement between the Health Card Programme and Alibaba Group was expected to be signed the following month. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited the head of Alibaba Group to visit Pakistan.
The rollout is planned for Islamabad, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The report put federal spending on the health card programme at about Rs10 billion a year. Punjab spends about Rs60 billion, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa more than Rs40 billion and Balochistan about Rs10 billion.
The coverage carries one discrepancy. The headline says 1,110 hospitals, while the body text of the ProPakistani report says 1,100.
For Pakistani diagnostics and health AI startups, the plan matters in two ways. A large foreign supplier could set the standard for hospital AI, and that could shape how local firms compete for public contracts. We found no report confirming that the agreement has been signed.
Reported from ProPakistani and Digital Pakistan, citing a Press Information Department statement.
