Speakers at a discussion urged political parties to design their manifestoes more relevant to democratic rights of people with disabilities which would help bring such people into mainstream. The discussion "The Political Rights of Persons with Disabilities" was jointly organised by Milestone Society for Special Persons and Comprehensive Health and Education Forum (CHEF) International at a local hotel on Monday. Besides representatives of different political parties, the event was attended by various NGOs working for the rights of persons with disabilities.
Accessibility consultant and writer Mr Hideto Kijima from Japan who has travelled 122 countries, Pakistan being 122nd, on his wheelchair also attended the event. Former foreign minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) senior leader Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali said unfortunately people in Pakistan were being treated by a step motherly kind of a state who did not have time for its citizens. "Some elements are busy in loot and plunder while some are considering their institutions as states and fighting with other institutions of the country," he added.
Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali said Pakistan was in need of not just political democracy but also economic and social democracy. He said political parties should be pressurised to include rights of disabled people into their manifestoes. He added a true democracy would ensure rights of every individual including people with disabilities.
Speaking on the occasion PML-N leader Raja Muhammad Anwar, who is also Chairman of the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF), while highlighting the role of the society in the rehabilitation of special persons, maintained that the political parties should include the agenda of special persons' welfare in their manifestoes. He regretted the fact that the needs of special persons were often ignored by the society. He said special persons were not a burden but a social asset who could pro-actively contribute in the overall social development.
Raja Anwar disclosed that keeping in view the importance of educating the special children, the Punjab Education Foundation recently launched the pilot project of inclusive education from Lahore by introducing this innovative model of education in the ten schools in the first phase so that the special children could study along with their normal age fellows.
He said the Punjab government had greatly contributed towards the welfare of the special persons and additional funds had been allocated to provide gratis educational facilities to the special children at the district and tehsil level. He, however, said state should act like a mother and treat all citizens equally providing them all the rights. Ihsan Ullah Waqas and Waqas Jafri of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) also endorsed the notion of political parties to design their manifestoes keeping in view democratic rights of special persons.
Israr Shah, Farooq Amjad Mir, Mian Hamid, Zubair Niazi and Ayesha Khalid of PTI, Chaudhry Azam Danyal of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), Syed Hussain and Naqi Ali of Wahdat ul Muslimeen also spoke on the occasion. President Milestone Society for Special Persons, Shafiq-ur-Rehman stressed the need for legislation for the welfare of the special persons with specific needs. He added the society should provide conducive atmosphere to all such people to help them grow in the society.