QUETTA: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that the federal government is fully focusing on the socio-economic development of Balochistan.
While addressing a ceremony in Quetta on a one-day visit to the city, PM Imran said, “The PTI-led government is the first one in history which is working towards the socio-economic development of the province and paying full attention to it.”
He said that no other government had spent as much money on the province’s development as his government did, sharing that road projects of 3,300 kilometres were initiated during his tenure.
Prime Minister Imran said, “I want to say with happiness that we have initiated several projects. In 15 years, past governments started projects on 1,100 kilometres, in our tenure we have covered 3,300 km,” he added.
Political parties did not need Balochistan to win the elections which were why the province was neglected, he regretted.
The prime minister said, “This was why roads were built only on 1,100km when this province needs connectivity the most,” adding that it reflected the mindset of those political parties. The prime minister, elaborating on his philosophy said that history remembered those who did something for other people.
“When his party came into power in KP in 2013, the province was in dire straits because of terrorism, he said. The law and order situation was such that 500 police officers had died and the force was demoralised. The business was catching people, taking money and letting them go,” the PM added.
The PTI won with a two-thirds majority because poverty was drastically reduced and investment was done in human development, In 2018, the PM highlighted.
Talking about his vision for the country, PM Imran said that so far, Pakistan’s development had been backwards. “What was our stature 50 years ago? … This country started regressing,” he observed.
He said a report had noted that there was elite capture in Pakistan. “Small provinces get left behind, the poor get poorer,” he added. Even the British prime minister was not permitted to buy property in the UK in the way that Pakistan’s former prime ministers had bought, he said in an apparent reference to former premier Nawaz Sharif.
The prime minister said Pakistan would develop when the poor segment of society was lifted up and backward areas were also developed alongside.
The model of the state of Madinah was distinctive in which leaders spent their money on the development of poor people, Prime Minister Imran said. He cited the same model as the reason for China’s development.
The PTI government was providing Sehat Cards to people in provinces under it, the prime minister recalled, saying there could be no bigger blessing for poor people.
The health cards would help improve the system and provide incentives to the private sector to build health facilities in remote areas, he said, terming it as the “biggest step towards a welfare state”.
He said the government was also introducing Kisan (farmer) Cards which would give direct subsidies on fertiliser and seeds to small farmers. This would increase productivity, he added.
The government was also mapping the population after which targeted subsidies would be offered to poor people, the prime minister said.
On this occasion, The prime minister also performed the groundbreaking for various projects in Quetta, including 22-km dualisation of Quetta Western Bypass (N-25) and the construction of an 11-km Dera Murad Jamali Bypass (N-65). He also distributed cheques under the Kamyab Jawan Programme.
