ISLAMABAD: The government has established the country’s first public sector National Autism and Mental Health Centre for children in the federal capital. Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Abdul Qadir Patel will inaugurate the centre on Thursday. This state-of-the-art centre has been established at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). On the occasion, the minister said this will be the first centre in the country of such high quality. He added that in the first phase, the centre will offer diagnostic and treatment facilities at the centre’s out-patients department (OPD). He said that the patients will also avail of free medical advice on various aspects of the disease including diagnostic and treatment management at the centre. He said an estimated 0.4 million people in the country are Autism patients, adding the major issue in Pakistan is a diagnosis of the disease as there are reports of wrong diagnose of the disease. He said the issues related to the treatment and availability of facilities are also being faced by patients in Pakistan. He added that this is major progress in the health sector as the government is committed to serving the people of Pakistan. He said the present government was focusing on its health reforms agenda to make a positive change in the health sector and improve the standard of the health service delivery system.