Disability Day: ‘10% of Pakistan’s population is disabled’

Polio is one of the causes of disability, inoculation of children below five is necessary.

QUETTA: At an event marking the International day for Persons with Disability (PWDs) it was announced that 10 per cent of Pakistan’s total population suffers from some form of disability. Speaking at the event organised by the UNICEF, Balochistan-based psychologist Dr Ghulam Rasool urged the government to provide shelter to the disabled and make Pakistan a more inclusive society. Dr Rasool said that PWDs are not like other people, however, they do have the ability to think and understand. At the end of the programme students and members of NGOs presented their respective concerns regarding PWDs. It was pointed out that polio is one of the causes of disability and that inoculation of children below five is necessary. Meanwhile, dozens of people with disabilities in Quetta staged a protest rally and observed Black Day. They urged the government and civil society to take action against the injustices they face. Addressing the rally, President of the Union of Disabled Persons in Balochistan Jahangir Khan Kakar said that the world considers the International Day for PWDs a merry occasion, however, in Pakistan most disabled citizens are deprived of their rights to acquire jobs in government departments.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2012.