• Says reforms in health and education sectors being implemented in line with PPP’s vision
• Balochistan to have first air ambulance service and modern trauma centre

QUETTA: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, during his visit to Quetta on Friday, inaugurated 11 transformative public welfare and healthcare projects launched by the Balochistan government at a ceremony held at the Chief Minister Secretariat.

These projects include the province’s first-ever air ambulance service and a trauma centre in Quetta — landmark initiatives aimed at redefining healthcare delivery through modernisation, improved accessibility, and people-centric services in the country’s most underdeveloped province.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari said healthcare is not a privilege but a fundamental right of every citizen, and reaffirmed that it remains the ideology and enduring mission of the PPP to ensure the provision of free, quality medical treatment to people at their doorstep.

He appreciated the CM Bugti-led PPP government and its team for completing all 11 public welfare and healthcare projects in just two years, while around a dozen more projects in the pipeline would be completed in the next three years. “These projects would be completed during Sarfraz Bugti’s five-year tenure,” Mr Bhutto-Zardari said, adding that he would visit again next month to inaugurate the remaining completed projects after Eid.

He said his party has always believed in people-centric and pro-poor politics and has consistently strived to serve underprivileged and neglected regions of the country. He added that when the government supports the common man, it strengthens the national

economy.

He further said that today not only Balochistan, but the entire country, the region, and the world are facing multiple challenges that are also contributing to economic hardship.

“These economic difficulties may eventually turn into a full-fledged economic crisis, particularly worsening the hardships faced by underdeveloped regions and marginalised communities,” he said.

He stressed that no society or state should have a system where citizens are deprived of medical care due to lack of money or resources, forcing them to lose their own lives or those of their loved ones. He added that this is why the PPP has always focused on strengthening the public healthcare sector.

“Ever since I entered politics, it has been my effort to ensure that people are provided free and quality healthcare at their doorstep,” he said.

The PPP chairman said Sindh’s healthcare performance is better than that of other provinces and expressed his desire to introduce similar healthcare initiatives in Balochistan.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari appreciated measures taken by the Balochistan government for polio eradication.

Speaking on the occasion, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti said the day marked not only the inauguration of several development projects but also a significant step towards changing the destiny of the people of province.

The chief minister said the provincial government was implementing reforms in the education and health sectors and that steps were being taken in line with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s vision to ensure the provision of basic facilities to underprivileged communities.

He said that in the past, the people of the province could hardly imagine having quality healthcare facilities available at their doorstep. However, he said, projects such as a modern trauma centre, the People’s Air Ambulance, and the Benazir Ambulance Service have now become a reality.

He said these initiatives were a practical demonstration of the vision and leadership of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto- Zardari.

On the occasion, CM Bugti announced that the modern trauma centre in Quetta would be named after Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2026