ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting, National History & Literary Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday said that country-wide efforts were needed to help the people with disabilities become the useful members of the society.
Addressing a function at the National Council of Arts, jointly organised by the World Health Organization, Ministry of Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) and other stakeholders marking the World Day for Persons with Disabilities, she said that it was incumbent upon all segments of the society to make a pledge for taking steps for the education and training of the special children and ensuring equal rights for them as citizens of the country.
Referring to the theme of the day ‘transformation forwards sustainable and resilient society for all’, the minister said that it was incumbent upon all segments of the society to make a pledge for taking steps for the education and training of the special children and ensuring equal rights for them as citizens of the country.
The minister said that any kind of disability could be overcome with courage and unswerving determination. Extending help to the special children helped in building their confidence, she added.
Marriyum said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government was taking concrete steps for the education of special children and in the Prime Minister’s Education Reforms Programme was also focussed on this.
She said in the new system of transport, priority had been given to the provision of ramps and five buses had been dedicated to the special children. The number would be increased gradually, she claimed.
The information minister said that the special children had a significant role in the development of the society and she was impressed and elated to watch the programmes presented by the special children during the function.
Marriyum promised that she would play a vibrant role in the legislation regarding special children and personally monitor the implementation of projects devised for the special children.
Observing that disabilities are not just a physical phenomenon but emotional as well, the minister only the parents of such people could comprehend this harsh reality, adding that she lauded the parents for playing a key role in making their disabled children useful members of the society.
The minister said that planning for any sphere of national life required authentic and reliable statistics and the government would endeavour to benefit from the recent census results as well as surveys conducted by the World Health Organization so that a comprehensive policy regarding special children could be formulated.