KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday sought comments from the Sindh chief secretary, social welfare department secretary, health secretary and Karachi commissioner on the petition seeking implementation of five per cent disabled persons’ quota in all government institutions.
A division bench, headed by Justice Sadiq Hussain Bhatti, was hearing a petition filed by eight special persons who had applied for employment in different departments, but to no avail.
Mst Sumbul, Mst Rubina, Nasir Ahmed, Noman Ahmed Ansari, Sajid Ali, Abdul Raheem, Ismail and Asad have moved the high court submitting that they had applied for employment in different departments as per their qualification. They said that many of the departments had conducted their interviews and test and also issued disability certificates to them.
“To facilitate the disabled persons, the ministry of health and social welfare had formed National Council for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons but no facilities were provided by the respondents for the rehabilitation of disabled persons at all,” the petitioners submitted.
The disabled persons said that they had made hectic efforts to get employment in different government departments as per their educational ability and quota granted for them, but all in vain. They submitted that they held demonstration protests in agitation at Karachi Press Club and in front of Karachi CM house, to which the CM had assured them that they would be hired in different departments as well as their quota will be enhanced from two to five per cent.
Advocate Nadeem Sheikh and Atam Parkash, who were representing the petitioners, informed the judges that the Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance, 1981, was promulgated to generate employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in industrial and commercial establishments. They added that the law could not achieve its objectives as it was silent on making guidelines for building infrastructure to facilitate the disabled persons to work in organisations.
The petitioners, while maintaining that the authorities concerned had miserably failed to provide employment to the deserving handicaps, requested the court to pass an appropriate order directing the respondents to hire them in governmental organisations as per their eligibility.
The court was further requested to call a report from the authorities concerned to ascertain the implementation of five per cent quota of disabled persons and to order its implementation in letter and spirit. After the preliminary hearing, the court issued notices to the respondents and the provincial law officer directing them to submit their respective replies by November 8.