Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif Monday said that objective of making Pakistan a great state cannot be achieved through sit-in, lockdown, allegations, leg-pulling and obstructing the development projects. "The country will become great by following the approach of 'our Pakistan' and we will have to move further like a team by learning from the past mistakes," he said while inaugurating the first phase of Pakistan's kidney and liver transplant centre, here on Monday.
Shehbaz maintained that the first phase of the project became operational costing Rs 20 billion. "This centre is the first of its kind in South Asia where the patients not only from Punjab but across Pakistan will be treated."
He said the political battles should be fought in the elections and the pains of the ailing humanity must not be worsened and the poverty of the poor must not be increased. "Let's work for the country; only then Pakistan will emerge as the great state in the world. We will have to achieve the goal of self-reliance by breaking the begging bowl," he said, adding: "Nations are not made through sit-ins, lockdown and strikes but hard work is required for becoming a great nation. It is also the message of Islam that new worlds are only discovered through hard work, honesty and trust and not by strikes and sit-ins."
Shehbaz Sharif inspected different sections of the hospital after the inauguration of the first phase and went to the OPD, dialysis centre and other departments to check the latest medical facilities there.
He said Punjab government had developed PKLI from its own resources and hepatitis filter clinics were attached with it which was treating patients in different districts. "In the beginning of the next year, such filter clinics will be functional in all the districts of the province and the poor patients coming from anywhere from the country will be treated free of cost. It is my commitment that Pakistan can be made a great state with collective efforts so let's make it a great state collectively."
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, the Chief Minister said "today is a unique moment that Punjab government had given the gift of a hospital according to the vision of Quaid-e-Azam. "The first phase of this hospital has been operationalized and the poor patients will be treated totally free of cost while the rich will have to pay and this was the vision of Quaid."
He said Punjab government had spent Rs 1.5 billion over the treatment of poor patients suffering from kidney and liver diseases from abroad during the last 9.5 years. "Average cost of treatment of poor patients in the hospitals of China, India and Rawalpindi and Islamabad has been around 20 to 30 lakhs rupees. Today, we should analyze that how much we have given respect to the struggle and sacrifices of founding fathers and our elders."
Shehbaz said ruling elite had access to all the amenities of life while a big chunk of the population was even deprived of the basic facilities of life. He said he was diagnosed with appendix cancer in 2003 and got himself treated from the USA and with the blessing of Almighty Allah, the treatment proved successful and "I am before you today.
I spent a lot of money on this treatment but I think that if any poor person from any far-flung areas had got this fatal disease, then from where he will spend 5-6 millions of rupees and he will die because of lack of medicines and proper treatment," he said, adding "Such a Pakistan cannot be called a country of Quaid and Iqbal and we are required to bridge this gap between poor and the rich."
He said, "If it is not done then the soft revolution will be turned into a bloody revolution which will be unstoppable and everything will be affected. It is time that we should move further to make this country a real welfare state according to the vision of Quaid and Iqbal."
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