Investments made for provision of world-class care to cancer patients, clarifies Shaukat Khanum Trust

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 23 Jan 2023

LAHORE: Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust stated categorically that all its funds, including those invested in its endowment fund, are used only to support its mission, namely the provision of world-class care to cancer patients.

A statement from the trust in response to a recent news item reported in sections of the press that PTI Chairman Imran Khan, who is also the founder of the hospital, had admitted investing $3 million from the hospital’s funds in a private housing project.
Setting the record straight, the hospital management said: “…it’s funds have never been misused or “diverted”, for any reason, by its Chairman, Mr. Imran Khan, or by any other individual or entity”.

As is common for many charity organizations, SKMT created an endowment fund to provide financial security and to cater for expenses in the long term. This endowment fund is supervised by an investment committee, with all investments made by the fund being undertaken based on the recommendations of this committee.

“The chairman does not, and has never, made investment decisions in isolation. It is crucial to point out that only non-Zakat funds are invested in this manner, with all Zakat collected being utilized on direct patient care within the year in which it is collected,” the statement reads.

In 2008, an amount of US$3 million was invested by the endowment fund in a real estate project in Oman. The investment allowed for an early exit, with a 100% capital guarantee on the investment.

In 2015, SKMT exercised its early exit option and the entire amount of US$3 million was duly recovered. It added that, although the investment did not generate a profit for the Trust in dollar terms, “it certainly did in rupee terms, since the difference in exchange rate referred to in the article in question actually worked in favour of SKMT”.

As with all other financial transactions, any and all investments made by SKMT and its Endowment Fund are duly audited and reported, with financial reports being made publicly available through the Shaukat Khanum website. Both the initial investment, and its subsequent return were reflected in the organization’s financial reports, and continue to be publicly available.

It is reiterated that all contributions to SKMCH&RC are used solely in fulfilling our mission of providing free cancer treatment to those unable to pay, it said.