QUETTA – Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that the governmentwas focused on bringing a revolution of prosperity in Balochistan throughprojects of infrastructure and human development.

Addressing here at the groundbreaking of three roads under National HighwayAuthority (NHA), the prime minister said Balochistan had been longneglected in the past and the government would take every step to minimizethe suffering of locals.

Imran Khan said despite financial constraints, his government was committedto divert funds towards the development of Balochistan.

The prime minister who arrived in Quetta on a day-long visit launched theprojects including construction of 162-kilometre Ziarat Harnai road, the23-kilometer dualization of Quetta Western Bypass (N-25) and constructionof 11-kilometer Dera Murad Jamali Bypass (N-65).

The prime minister mentioned that compared with the 1,100 kilometres roadsconstructed by previous governments in 15 years, his government completed3,300 km in two-and-a-half years.

He said the entire area along the western route of China Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC) would be developed. He regretted that had serious stepstaken in past, the country would have undergone immense development.

He termed ‘elite capture’ responsible for economic divided in the societyand stressed the need for a model of development for all, including richand poor.

Imran Khan said Balochistan suffered apathy of previous rulers who had themindset to ignore the province. However, he said, his ideology was aboutmaking Pakistan rise by uplifting its weaker segments.

He said China’s development and its strategy to bring people out of povertywas exemplary and added that Pakistan could learn from the same model.

He mentioned that after Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, the government was expandingthe network of Rs 0.1 million health insurance per household in Punjab andGilgit Baltistan, and said the same would be discussed with the coalitiongovernment of Balochistan.