QUETTA - Chairman Pakistan People’s Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, urged the Balochistan government to expedite the compensation process initiated for the affectees of 2022 floods. “The housing project for those affected by the 2022 floods should be accelerated. Every possible step shall be taken to compensate the calamity stricken masses of Balochistan and Sindh,” he said while addressing a meeting held at CM Secretariat Quetta here on Thursday.
Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, provincial ministers, chief secretary and IG Police were prominent among others who attended the meeting. PPP Chairman while expressing his resolve against the wave of terror, remarked, “in order to thwart the terrorists’ intentions, it is necessary to defeat the narrative of terrorism,” To restore peace and bring political stability in Balochistan, he termed political processes at the grassroots level as mandatory.
The first youth policy for Balochistan is a positive development, he lauded and urged that its implementation in letter and spirit is crucial to provide more opportunities for the youth.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was briefed on various flagship programs in Balochistan, including the Benazir Bhutto Scholarship Program, People’s Air Ambulance and People’s Green Bus Service, the establishment of NICVD and Gambat Institute of Liver Transplant in Quetta, the Skilled Workers Card Program, and Rescue 1122 Service.
He was informed that the developmental budget for education in Balochistan has been increased by 300%, and the developmental budget for health by 129%. Additionally, the Health on Wheels program has been launched to provide health facilities in remote areas of Balochistan. Free medicines for cancer patients are also being provided in the province. A project to convert over 30,000 agricultural tube wells to solar energy has begun, and subsidies for tractors will be provided to Balochistan’s farmers to boost agriculture. The meeting was also apprised that Rs 10 billion have been allocated for a new phase of the Kachhi Canal project from the Indus River while four billion rupees have been allocated for interest-free loans to unemployed graduates.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was further informed that under the Youth Skills Development Program, approximately 30,000 young people will be trained over two years and provided with employment opportunities abroad. The provincial government will grant scholarships to Balochistan students pursuing PhDs in science subjects at over 200 universities worldwide.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, on the occasion, issued directives for the immediate completion of health projects in Balochistan similar to those in Sindh.
“Emergency measures should be taken to improve infrastructure across Balochistan from Gwadar to Quetta and Sibi to Jaffarabad. He also stressed that the housing project for those affected by the 2022 floods should be accelerated.
