Punjab Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday criticised the performance of successive governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying the province’s 13-year political record had been marked by protests, unrest and political rhetoric rather than public service delivery.
In a post on social media platform X, she tweeted: Brothers and sisters of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, over thirteen years, you were given nothing but sit-ins, chaos, mudslinging, and cheap trends. If Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is now hearing talk of governor’s rule and emergency, this is not the fault of the people—it is the consequence of thirteen years of incompetence.
Brothers and sisters of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, here is a question: Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are in the same country, sharing the same constitution and the same national treasury—then why does one province embark on a journey of progress while the other descends into decline and unrest? The difference is not in resources, but in intent and capability. If Punjab can be clean, why can’t Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? Because there, it was politics, not cleanliness.
If deserving children of Punjab can receive scholarships, why can’t the children of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? Because there, the priority was sit-ins, not children.
If mothers in Punjab are carefree, why are mothers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa living in fear? Because there, the focus was not on protecting the people, but on marching on Islamabad. If green electric buses can run in Punjab, why not in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? Because there, projects ran only on social media, not on the ground.
If paved roads can reach the villages of Punjab, why are the roads of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa left incomplete? Because there, promises were made, but work was not. If free medicine, field hospitals, and clinics-on-wheels are at the doorstep in Punjab, why is a patient in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa helpless? Because there, power was held dearer than the health of the people.
The answer to “why” is one and the same: thirteen years of chaos and incompetence! Separately, Maryam Nawaz on Monday inaugurated the Social Security Mobile Health Programme to provide healthcare facilities to registered industrial workers and their families at their workplaces and doorsteps through 65 mobile healthcare units, including hospitals, clinics, motorcycles and scooters.
Under the programme, more than 4.6 million industrial workers and their family members in Lahore, Kasur and Sheikhupura will benefit from healthcare services. She said mobile health units would reach factories, commercial establishments and industrial units wherever workers were employed, while their families would also receive medical facilities at their doorsteps.
The CM said the mobile health programme would facilitate early diagnosis and treatment while helping reduce pressure on social security hospitals.
According to the briefing, the mobile healthcare fleet comprises 10 mobile hospitals, five mobile clinics, specialised dental and cardiac mobile units, 40 motorcycles and 10 scooters.
The units will provide medical consultations, outpatient services, diagnostic facilities, medicines, first aid, telemedicine and health awareness services. The unit will visit 29,845 factories, industrial establishments and other institutions in Lahore, Sheikhupura and Kasur, according to the briefing.
The mobile healthcare units will also be used to screen 54,000 children studying in workers’ welfare schools across Punjab for heart diseases. All mobile units will be connected to a digital hub established at the PESSI head office to ensure real-time monitoring of their movements, field operations and service delivery through a central dashboard. Moreover, Maryam Nawaz Sharif expressed deep grief and sorrow over the martyrdom of two Pakistan Army pilots in a training aircraft crash in Nawan Killi area of Quetta.