Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has issued a sharp rebuttal to Barrister Saif’s recent remarks, stating that the Punjab government’s allocation for health and education alone exceeds the total annual budget of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Azma Bokhari said that for the first time in Punjab’s history, patients at government hospitals are receiving essential medicines free of cost-an unprecedented initiative made possible under the leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
She emphasized that modern public healthcare initiatives such as Field Hospitals, Clinics on Wheels, and Maryam Nawaz Health Clinics are running successfully and serving citizens across the province.
“The Punjab government has gone a step further by delivering expensive medications for life-threatening illnesses-like cancer, hepatitis, and tuberculosis-directly to patients’ homes. This is a landmark in public service,” she said.
Bokhari added that patients from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are frequently seeking medical treatment in Punjab’s hospitals, recognizing the province’s superior healthcare infrastructure. “Punjab’s doors are open to citizens from every province. We are committed to serving the people without discrimination,” she stated.
Criticizing Barrister Saif, Bokhari remarked, “It seems your only job is to criticize Punjab while ignoring the performance of your own government in KP. Even after ruling a province for over a decade, you continue to use Punjab as a political crutch.”
She questioned, “Has Barrister Saif, even once in the last 18 months, presented any record of the performance of his so-called ‘fake Sultan Rahi’ Chief Minister?”
Azma Bokhari stated that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is setting new records in public service and that Punjab’s budget is not just a set of figures in documents-it is actively transforming lives on the ground.
Concluding her statement, she said, “While Punjab’s budget is invested in the welfare of its people, KP’s budget appears to be divided internally for political benefit-shared like sweets rather than spent for public good.”