Balochistan earmarks Rs119.6bn for health, agriculture

QUETTA: The Balochistan government has set aside a combined Rs119.6 billion for the health and agriculture sectors in its 2026-27 budget, with a significantly larger share going to healthcare and a separate allocation aimed at farm development and food security.

Presenting the budget in the Balochistan Assembly, Finance Minister Mir Shoaib Nosherwani announced that Rs96 billion had been allocated for the health sector. Of this, Rs6 billion has been reserved for development spending and Rs90 billion for non-development expenditures, excluding assets. According to the budget details presented by the minister, the non-development allocation is 30 per cent higher than last year’s Rs71 billion.

Nosherwani said the provincial government had made quality healthcare a leading priority and outlined a series of measures intended to strengthen medical infrastructure and service delivery across the province. The budget allocates Rs1.3 billion for operational expenses of the new trauma centre in Quetta, while funding for the Balochistan Health Card programme has been increased from Rs4.5 billion to Rs6 billion. The grant for the Peoples Primary Healthcare Initiative has also been raised from Rs7.6 billion to Rs8.8 billion.

The government has increased the medicines allocation by 23 per cent, from Rs6.9 billion to Rs8.5 billion. The budget also includes Rs10 million for a thalassemia centre in Kech district and Rs9 million for a similar facility in Gwadar. In addition, the grant for the Sheikh Zayed bin Nahyan Institute of Cardiology has been enhanced from Rs2.2 billion to Rs2.8 billion, and Rs1.1 billion has been earmarked for postgraduate doctors and house officers.

Further health allocations include an increase in grants for Nawab Ghaus Bakhsh Raisani Memorial Hospital in Mastung from Rs400 million to Rs735 million. The provincial government has also allocated Rs400 million each for the Burn Unit in Quetta and Prince Fahad Hospital in Dalbandin. The grant for Pak-Oman Hospital in Pasni has been increased from Rs200 million to Rs279 million, while the Balochistan Nutrition Programme will receive Rs1.5 billion. The budget also provides for the creation of 500 new posts in the health department.

Agriculture allocations

For the agriculture sector, the provincial government has allocated Rs23.6 billion. The amount includes Rs4.4 billion for development projects and Rs19.2 billion for non-development expenditures. During his budget speech, Nosherwani described agriculture as the backbone of the national economy and said the sector contributes 23.4 per cent to Pakistan’s gross domestic product.

Budget documents show that Rs200 million has been earmarked for the Cotton Programme, Rs2.5 billion for the establishment of an Agro Market Hub and Rs1 billion for the Kissan Card Programme. In the Food Department, Rs9 million has been allocated under the development budget, while Rs5.08 billion has been set aside for non-development spending.