RAHIM YAR KHAN: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Friday said his government was making every effort to reduce miseries of the masses. “I want to ease the lives of common people by giving them access to basic facilities in a respectable way, particularly better health services,” he said in his address at the launch of PM’s Health Card scheme in Rahim Yar Khan. He said the scheme would enable the patients’ access to public and private hospitals. The limit of medical cover will be up to Rs 0.3 million; however, on exhaust of limit, the treatment would be completed with the financial assistance from the Baitul Maal, he said. The prime minister said several families had so far been registered with the scheme. He particularly lauded the efforts of State Minister for Health Saira Afzal Tarar and Maryam Nawaz in successful implementation of the health card scheme. Premier Nawaz also appreciated Azad Jammu Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the chief ministers of Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan for taking personal interest in the project. PM Nawaz said that he always had a passion to serve the masses, particularly the underprivileged segment of society and stressed that every government should fulfil its moral and religious responsibility toward the masses. The prime minister said he was committed to establishing 50 new hospitals across the country. Citing achievement of the government, he said several development projects had been launched across the country, which would usher in an era of progress and prosperity. He mentioned that a network of motorways was being expanded across the country, adding that it was only the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that built a motorway in the country. “None of the previous governments have constructed motorways, which not only reduce distances but ends poverty,” he said. He said work on Karachi-Lahore Motorway was in progress and added that a motorway in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa from Hassan Abdal to Mansehra would ultimately be linked up to Khunjrab at Chinese border. He said Rahim Yar Khan would benefit from the Multan-Sukkur Motorway, which would be completed by 2019. He said the government had taken various steps to upgrade the Pakistan Railways and had also improved the services of Pakistan International Airlines, which was yielding positive results. The prime minister also claimed credit for “improved situation of law and order, reduction in load shedding and petroleum prices and a stable ecomony”. “Since the PML-N came into power, we have effectively dealt with all these challenges which were passed over to our government,” he maintained. Speaking on the occasion, Saria Afzal Tarar said Rahim Yar Khan had been chosen for initiation of this health programme, as the prime minister wanted it to be launched from south Punjab. She said the PM’s Health Card Scheme was being implemented in collaboration with provinces in a transparent manner. Earlier, the prime minister distributes health cards to the deserving families and individuals.