Public welfare projects should not be politicised: PM

MULTAN: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday directed completion of public welfare projects on priority basis and stressed that such programmes should not be politicised in the best interest of people.

Speaking during his visit to the under-construction 500-bed Nishtar Hospital II, he said the public welfare projects suffered a major setback during the tenure of the previous government.

The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the ongoing pace of construction work at the hospital. He, however, regretted that the work on phase II of Nishtar Hospital was stopped during the government of Imran Khan, the official news agency reported.

He said the non-implementation of the development work affected the large population of patients in the city and adjoining areas.

He expressed confidence that under the supervision of Punjab’s Interim Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, the expansion of hospital would be completed by September 30. Also, the import of modern machinery will help ensure effective implementation of the work, he added.

PM Sharif also lauded the efforts of the commissioner of Multan, the health secretary and other officials concerned in carrying out the hospital project effectively.

He proposed the idea of establishing a medical city in the area to facilitate the locals with state-of-the-art medical facilities.

Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman, Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and senior provincial government officials were present on the occasion.

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the site of Nishtar-II hospital to check the status of mega tertiary healthcare project worth Rs9,450 million.

Soon after his arrival at Multan International Airport, the prime minister reached the Nishtar-II hospital site where he received briefing from CEO Infrastructure Development Authority of Punjab (IDAP) and was informed that the project was initiated on December 29, 2019 carrying a cost of Rs9,450 million at a spacious 456 kanal area and so far Rs7,430 million funding had been utilised, about 79 percent of the total cost.