Balochistan CM Visits BISP Secretariat

The Baloch Hal News

ISLAMABAD, July 1: Chief Minister Balochistan, Nawab Muhammad Aslam Khan Raisani has said that any attempt to derail the democratic process would have catastrophic impacts in the country.

The Chief Minister was talking to the Federal Minister / Chairperson of Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), Farzana Raja during a visit to BISP Secretariat here Thursday. He was accompanied by provincial minister finance, Mir Asim Kurd Gailu; minister health, Haji Ainullah Shams and secretary health, Jalal Khan Mandokhel.

Nawab Aslam Raisani said that it was the initiative of the great leader, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto that the Country had been gifted with the 1973 constitution during the first PPP government, which guaranteed due rights to the federating units whereas the present PPP led government under the leadership of President Mir Asif Ali Zardari gifted the people with the 18^th constitutional amendment, which, he added, was a first step towards full provincial autonomy.

The Chief Minister was of the view that the democratic process must continue in order to help strengthen the democracy in its true sense, putting the country on the road to uplift and prosperity, getting a respectable place among the civilized countries of the world.

The Chief Minister and members of his delegation had visited BISP Secretariat to discuss with the Chairperson about the health insurance coverage of the poor people in Balochistan under “Waseela-e-Haq” scheme.

On the occasion Ms. Farzana Raja exchanged the modalities of the health insurance coverage of the poor and said that the BISP team had already done much spadework in collaboration with the Balochistan Health Department to extend health insurance being considered for the BISP beneficiaries. She said that the scheme would provide coverage for hospitalization including deliveries and diagnostic tests resulting from illness or injury with an annual maximum of Rs. 25’000 per family covering all ages.

She informed that over 70 percent household survey had been conducted in Balochistan under BISP initiatives. She maintained that BISP leadership was cognizant of the importance of the involvement of Health Department in this initiative, being primarily a means of provision of assistance to the BISP target population to meet their serious healthcare expenditures.

During the meeting they also discussed options for engaging public as well as private sector hospitals for extending healthcare facilities under the health insurance plan. Nawab Aslam Raisani appreciated the efforts of BISP team in the province and desired that the health insurance facility should cover all the districts in Balochistan through provincial health department.