Bilawal lays foundation of 600-bed hospital at Chandka Medical Hospital, Larkana

Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari laid the foundation stone of a new 600-bed hospital in Larkana on Saturday, Associated Press of Pakistan reported. The project is presented as a step towards stronger healthcare and better access to medical services for people in Larkana and surrounding areas.

According to Daily Times, the new facility will be built at Chandka Medical Hospital. The proposed hospital is intended to offer modern medical facilities.

Speaking at the event, Bilawal said Chandka Medical Hospital, founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1970, is overburdened because of population growth, a large catchment area and patients arriving from Balochistan.

Daily Times reported that Bilawal had inaugurated Larkana University the previous day. He said the federal Higher Education Commission gives roughly Rs65 billion in grants to universities across the country, while the Sindh government alone gives roughly Rs45 billion to universities in Sindh.

Speaking to journalists, Bilawal said his meeting with the Prime Minister in Islamabad was positive and constructive, and that a strategy for better federal-provincial coordination was agreed. He said Sindh has not received its fair share of federal development resources and PSDP allocations for a long time, and called for the disparity among provinces to be examined seriously.

He also said Balochistan has complaints about inadequate federal road projects, and that Sindh faces road problems too, including on the Karachi to Sukkur national highway.

Bilawal urged the federal government to prioritise consultation with all political, social and provincial stakeholders rather than confrontation. He thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for accepting the PPP's proposal for an electoral reforms committee, and said he had asked opposition leaders in the Senate and National Assembly to nominate their full complement of members to it.