LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday, during hearing of a petition filed by Barrister Asfand Khan Tareen regarding the derogatory use of words to describe people with special needs, banned the use of words andha (blind), goonga (mute), behra (deaf) and langra (lame) in official matters.
LHC directed the government to make the necessary changes in this regard to The Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance of 1981.
The Social Welfare Department’s lawyer, Tariq Ismail, who represented the state, assured the court that in light of the verdict, The Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance, 1981 will be amended to expunge the banned terms.
Barrister Asfand Khan Tareen had named the Punjab government, the federal government and the law ministry as respondents in his petition.
In the ruling, LHC Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah also directed that disabled persons must now be referred to as “special persons”.
When referring to persons who are unable to see, the term “visually impaired” must be used, the ruling stated.
