Senior Punjab Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday announced that a state-of-the-art cancer hospital would be established in Rawalpindi on the model of the Nawaz Sharif Cancer Hospital in Lahore, describing the initiative as a significant step toward improving healthcare services in Punjab.
Addressing a public gathering during her visit to Commercial Market and the beautified Model Bazaar in Raja Bazaar, Marriyum Aurangzeb said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz believes in delivering people’s rights even before they are demanded, and that record development projects, modern health facilities, education reforms and welfare programmes were being rapidly implemented across the province.
Speaking on healthcare, Aurangzeb said government hospitals were being upgraded to improve the quality of treatment available to the public, and that Lahore was being transformed into the “Nawaz Sharif Medical District,” with work underway on 11 modern hospitals.
The announcement of a Rawalpindi cancer hospital was framed as an extension of this broader healthcare push, alongside existing facilities such as the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC) and the Kidney Hospital, which she credited to previous PML-N governments led by Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
She also highlighted other development initiatives, including the beautification of markets in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Taxila, Gujar Khan, D.G. Khan, Vehari, Multan, Bahawalpur, Sargodha and other cities, and said a parking plaza for Raja Bazaar had been approved under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) 2027 to ease traffic and parking problems in the area.
Counting ongoing infrastructure projects in Rawalpindi, she mentioned the Katchery Chowk underpass, the Rawalpindi Ring Road, the electric bus service, and the Suthera Punjab (cleanliness) programme, describing them as reflective of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s development vision.
On education and youth affairs, Aurangzeb said the Chief Minister was providing laptops, Honhaar Scholarships and modern educational facilities to young people, while basic facilities were being ensured in government schools. She added that over the past two-and-a-half years, 42,000 kilometres of roads had been built across Punjab, and the Safe City project was being extended to all tehsils to provide a secure environment, particularly for women, children and the elderly.
She further referred to the “Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar” (Own Roof, Own Home) programme for homeless families and special schemes for families without personal land.
Addressing broader national issues, the minister praised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for raising Pakistan’s global standing through economic, foreign policy and counter-terrorism measures and paid tribute to the armed forces, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and martyrs.
She also commended Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi for his efforts to improve the railways, and spoke on Kashmir, saying Nawaz Sharif’s relationship with the Kashmiri people was one of trust, love and service rather than mere politics. She urged the people of Azad Kashmir, especially the youth, to support PML-N candidates in the upcoming elections, calling Kashmir “Pakistan’s jugular vein.”