KARACHI: “It is our responsibility to support children who are differently abled,” said Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah while inaugurating Karachi’s first ever Center of Autism Rehabilitation and Training (C-ART) in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. While addressing the inaugural ceremony of C-ART, Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah said that to him autism or disability was not a disease but a problem which both parents and the society had to handle lovingly, medically and carefully. CM Murad remarked that one of the biggest challenges in establishing such institutions was the recruitment of dedicated and devoted professionals to run them in the public interest. “Today we have established C-ART and we have found some dedicated persons like Dr Nabila Soomro and others to make this institution one of the best ones in South Asia,” he said. Murad Ali Shah then proudly shared that Karachi’s new C-Art institution was the biggest C-Art institution in public sector in South Asia. CM Murad Ali Shah shared that through different presentations he had found out that the number of people on administrative posts in C-ART was greater than the number of trainers and experts in the institute. “We have to increase the strength of trainers and teaching staff to make it a professional institution,” he said. CM Murad added that he was ready to provide funds whenever the C-ART administration needed them as long as there were genuine results. “I want to see the actual results and genuine rehabilitation,” he said. The chief minister urged C-Art administration to establish its satellite centers in others parts of the province. “There is a dire need of such rehabilitation and training centers all over Sindh,” he said. Quoting the example of National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), CM Murad said that it had eight satellite centers in different districts of the province. CM Murad Ali Shah said that the C-ART would cater to the needs of the children whose parents could not afford to pay the fees of private institutions. The chief minister said that he was working hard for the education and training of every segment of the society. “We are also improving our schools working for special children,” he added. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) refers to a range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication as well as by unique strengths and differences. According to CM Murad Ali Shah, there were over 60 million (mn) people with autism across the world. He said that autistic people residing in developing countries of Africa and Asia (including Pakistan), did not even have access to any public services. “The situation is definitely alarming,” asserted CM Murad. He added that in a country like Pakistan, where reasonable education remained a dream for an average person, affording rehabilitation services for autistic children remained a big challenge. Earlier, the chief minister unveiled the plaque to inaugurate the newly constructed center. When he arrived at the center, special children sang a song to welcome him. P&D chairman Mohammad Waseem, Principal Secretary to CM Sohail Rajput, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities secretary Abbas Baloch, Professor Dr Nabila Soomro and other relevant officials were also present during the inaugural ceremony. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in 2016-17 had allocated Rs71.7 mn to establish a Centre of Autism Rehabilitation and Training Sindh (C-Arts) in a three-story building with 38 room rooms. C-ART is the biggest public sector institution catering to the needs of differently abled children in South Asia. It has the capacity to enroll 300 children in a session and it would cater to the needs of the autistic children whose parents cannot afford to pay hefty fees of private institutions. The Autism Centre has been completed and is ready to facilitate special children and their families. While talking to the media just after inaugurating the C-ART, CM Murad said that his government was not against the construction of Bhasha Dam and issues of water storage must be resolved. The chief minister said that the provincial government had no objection on the construction of Bhasha Dam and there was a need to store water but ‘we have to see how much water is available in our system.’ Responding to a question regarding the law and order situation in the city, the CM said that street crime had increased in the metropolis and it had invited a wide criticism. “Actually, this problem (street crime) increased during the caretaker government and now we are curbing it,” he added. The CM said that IG Police was also on board with the government. “We would formulate a vigorous strategy to eliminate street crime and make the overall restored law and order sustainable,” he vowed. Replying to another question, CM Murad said that the National Action Plan (NAP) was in progress and the targeted operation launched in the city had produced best results. “Now we are going to divert our attention towards the street criminals, drug mafia and land grabbers,” he shared. To another question, Murad Ali Shah said that the poor people were being given houses under Benazir Bhutto Housing Cell. “This program has been going on since the last many years and a large number of homeless people have been gives houses under it,” he said. Published in Daily Times, September 9th 2018.