February 16, 2026
Islamabad – The Chief Secretary Balochistan, Shakeel Qadir Khan, delivered the opening address at the high-level policy consultation titled “Towards Inclusive and Resilient Social Services in Balochistan: A Policy Consultation,” organized by the Government of Balochistan with technical support from UNICEF on February 16, 2026, in Islamabad. In his address, the Chief Secretary underscored the provincial administration’s responsibility to translate policy vision into tangible services that are accessible to citizens across Balochistan’s vast and geographically challenging landscape. He emphasized that ensuring access to quality education, healthcare, and social protection services remains a core priority of the Government. Highlighting the Government’s sustained investments in social sectors over the past decade, Shakeel Qadir Khan noted that these efforts have resulted in measurable progress. National survey data reflects improvements in child health outcomes and increased utilization of maternal healthcare services, indicating positive momentum in strengthening the province’s health systems. He further noted gradual improvements in literacy rates and access to essential social services, while emphasizing that expanding digital systems is creating new opportunities to enhance governance, transparency, and performance monitoring. At the same time, the Chief Secretary acknowledged that key challenges persist. He noted that indicators such as female literacy, learning outcomes, nutrition, and multidimensional poverty remain below desired levels, highlighting the need to move beyond infrastructure expansion toward improving service quality and institutional performance. Outlining the Government’s strategic implementation priorities, Shakeel Qadir Khan emphasized the importance of strengthening human resources, ensuring functional and fully staffed schools and health facilities, and improving the efficiency and transparency of social protection programs. He stated that the provincial administration is focusing on enhancing coordination across departments, strengthening district-level implementation capacity, and expanding data-driven monitoring systems to enable evidence-based planning and accountability. The Chief Secretary also highlighted the growing impact of climate change on development planning, noting that building resilient social service systems capable of functioning effectively during climate-related and other crises is now essential. He emphasized the importance of integrating resilience into policy design and service delivery frameworks to protect vulnerable populations and ensure continuity of essential services. Addressing development partners, he reaffirmed the Government of Balochistan’s commitment to strong and meaningful partnerships, emphasizing that collaboration is valued not only for financial support but also for technical expertise, innovation, and institutional strengthening. He called for a shift from fragmented, project-based approaches toward long-term, programmatic partnerships that support sustainable institutional reforms. In concluding his remarks, Shakeel Qadir Khan reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and collaborative action. He emphasized that the shared objective remains ensuring that every citizen of Balochistan, regardless of location or circumstance, has access to quality, inclusive, and resilient social services.
