Daily Times

President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday called for the creation of specific jobs for differently-abled people (DAPs) to make them financially independent.

He emphasised that DAPs needed to be trained and well-equipped with specific skill sets to make them useful and productive citizens of the country.

The president gave these remarks during a meeting with the Vice Chairman of Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness (PFFB), Dr Anis-ur-Rehman, at Aiwan-e-Sadr. During the meeting, the President said that society should not neglect DAPs, adding that it was the collective responsibility of the public and private sectors to encourage and support persons with disabilities.

Dr Anis-ur-Rehman apprised the President about the steps taken by PFFB for the welfare of the visually-impaired persons in Pakistan.

He said that his organization had transformed the lives of more than 50,000 visually-impaired students and persons at the national level, during the last ten years, through educational services, capacity-building trainings, awareness campaigns, career counselling, and Assistive Technology.

He highlighted that the major challenge being faced by the visually-impaired children was the lack of hostel facilities, particularly for the visually-impaired girls in Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Balochistan. The meeting was also informed that another major issue being faced by visually-impaired students was the non-availability of writers to help them during examinations as these students were unable to write themselves.

The President underscored that it was the responsibility of the Government and the private sectors to help address the issues being faced by the visually-impaired people.

He also stressed the need for raising awareness about the rights and issues of persons with disabilities to bring positive behavioural change towards them.