Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday said the progress of Balochistan is vital for development of the country. Addressing the ground-breaking ceremony of two mega projects, Quetta-Zhob Double Carriageway and Balochistan Health Complex in Quetta, the prime minister said good governance is the only way to serve the people. Highlighting salient features of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa local government system, he stressed the provincial government to adopt the same in Balochistan.
“We can uplift Balochistan by adopting the local government system like Khyber Pakhtunkhwaw to streamline the funds distribution at grass roots level in proper manner,” he said. “When you empower people on a village level, it will help development. We have to make sure that development is inclusive. The more we focus on Balochistan, the more it will develop and Pakistan along with it,” he said.
Reiterating his government’s resolve about Naya Pakistan, the prime minister said the government wants real development in Balochistan. Criticizing the previous governments, he said they did nothing for the development of the country as poor governance resulted in financial deficit. “Rs 6 billion is being paid per day in lieu of loans which were borrowed by previous governments,” he said, and added, “We have to provide education, health and security to the people. We have come here not to win elections like previous practice, but to develop Balochistan along with Pakistan in real sense.”
Imran Khan said such mega projects will bring ultimate prosperity in the country. “We will bring real change through revolutionary reforms in the society,” he said. The 305 km long double carriageway will become a real game charger for the province as it will give basis to the development of Balochistan through its linkage with underdeveloped areas, he said, adding that the western route of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor should have been given priority by the previous regimes.
The prime minister extended gratitude to COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa for his all-out support in establishing the ‘Balochistan Health Complex’ which, he said, will help address public health issues, particularly the cardiac diseases, in the area.
In Gwadar, the prime minister launched work on New Gwadar International Airport and announced various other development schemes for the city, which he believed will become an engine of growth for Pakistan.
“What a pleasure it is to be in Gwadar. Insha Allah, in coming months, years, Gwadar will be, I see, an engine of growth for Pakistan,” he said.
The airport was included in the early harvest high priority projects of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in January 2014. The Chinese government will assist Pakistan in construction of the airport under Chinese Grant Assistance.
The prime minister assured the fishermen not to worry about their sustenance owing to the construction of the highway as special bridges will be built to facilitate them. He categorically said any development will be of no use unless it benefits the local people. He said in the past, the locals were ignored while executing the development projects in Balochistan. He said gas worth billions of rupees was extracted from Sui but it could not change the living standard of the local people.
He said having located at an ideal location and being well-connected, Gwadar’s development will be the development of whole of Pakistan. He said he is looking forward to boosting bilateral cooperation with China during his upcoming visit in late April in various fields like train technology, agriculture and cage fishery.
