City Reporter
President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday said Persons With Disabilities deserved access to all opportunities, particularly mainstreaming in education and employment.
Addressing an event organized to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the president said offering an inclusive and accommodating environment to such persons was the collective responsibility of the state and society.
Begum Samina Alvi, representatives of organizations working for PWDs and and a large number of children with physical and mental impairments attended the event themed ‘Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities towards an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 world’.
President Alvi said persons with disabilities needed utmost care and a welcoming attitude, beginning right from their homes and families to the schools and places of work.
He said among the four categories of disabilities – visual, hearing, wheel-chair bound and mental, the persons with either of the first three impairments had the same intellectual capacity as normal people and needed the opportunity to study in the mainstream educational system.
At workplace, he said, there was a need to build an effective system to support such employees including fulfillment of job quota, incentives, and special job descriptions as per needs.
Dr Alvi said around 400,000 PWDs got themselves registered under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s initiative of socio-welfare assistance for two million such persons, thus needed to create awareness among the masses for their self respect and dignity.
Later, President Alvi interacted with the children with disabilities and appreciated their performances including songs, dances, and tableaus presented before the audience.
Speaking on the occasion Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari said the day for persons with disabilities was commemorated the world over including Pakistan calling the need to provide them an enabling environment as equal citizens.
