KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday sought a comprehensive reply from the chief secretary on a petition seeking implementation of five per cent disabled quota in jobs of the government.
A division bench, headed by Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, was hearing a petition filed by disabled persons, who had applied for employment in different departments, and Justice Helpline, a nongovernmental organisation.
The court directed the chief secretary to file a comprehensive reply and inform it regarding the implementation of disabled persons quota within 10 days.
Earlier, the disabled persons had moved the high court submitting that they had applied for employment in different departments as per their qualification. They added that many of the departments had conducted their interviews and test and also issued disability certificates to them.
“To facilitate the disabled persons, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had formed a National Council for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons but no facilities were provided at all by the respondents for the rehabilitation of disabled persons,” the petitioners had submitted.
The petitioners said that they made hectic efforts to get employment in different government departments according to their educational ability and quota granted for them, but all in vain. They also submitted that they held protest demonstrations in agitation at Karachi Press Club and at Sindh Chief Minister’s house in Karachi on which the CM had assured them that they would be hired in different departments, and their job quota will be increased 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 in allowing them to work in organisations.
The petitioners, while maintaining that the authorities concerned had miserably failed to provide employment to the deserving handicapped people, 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 implementation of five per cent quota of disabled persons and to order its implementation with letter and spirit.
