LAHORE: Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayyaz Sadiq hinted at new legislation to help protect special persons saying that they are an assets of the country and all segments of society are duty bound to act for them.
He was speaking at the 12th annual mela of Lahore Businessmen Association for Rehabilitation of Disabled (LABARD) here at Ghulam Gilani Park (Race Course Park). LABARD President and Member National Assembly Pervez Malik, LCCI Vice President Nasir Saeed, Chinese Consul General Yu Boren, US Consul General in Lahore Zachary Harkenrider, Provincial Minister for Special Education Asif Saeed Manais, LABARD Senior Vice President Mian Nusrat-ud-Din, Secretary General Saeed Khan, Secretary Information Ahmer Malik, Naghmana Javed, Governing Body Members, renowned actor Rashid Mahmood, high government officials and people from different walks of life were present on the occasion to share bliss with the special kids.
The LCCI President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad and Senior Vice President Almas Hyder through a special message lauded efforts of the LABARD for rehabilitation of disabled and pledged to play their due role for this noble cause.
Over 5000 special children Friday took part in 12th LABARD Mela where the people belonging to all walks of life including trade, industry, politics and academia expressed solidarity with the physically challenged children.
The Lahore Businessmen Association for the Rehabilitation of Disabled (LABARD) has been arranging the Meal for Special Children for the last many years with an objective to encourage the disabled persons so that they could be able to play their role as an active member of the society.
Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayyaz Sadiq said that the government will consider new legislation for the physically challenged people and would allocate maximum resources to facilitate them. He said that LABARD and the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry deserve appreciation as because of their joint efforts, LABARD has become national identity at global level.
Sardar Ayyaz Sadiq invited LABARD President Pervez Malik to bring a delegation of the Special Persons to the next session of National Assembly.
The speakers including President LABARD Pervez Malik and LCCI Vice President Nasir Saeed, speaking on the occasion, urged the government to spare maximum resources for the rehabilitation of the physically challenged.
The LABARD President Pervez Malik said LABARD is taking all possible measures for the training of special persons as they are an important segment of the society and their active participation is necessary for country’s development. He said that various steps taken by the government for the uplift of special people showed government’s keenness for their welfare and rehabilitation.
He also gave a detailed briefing about the activities of LABARD. He paid rich tributes to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry for extending matchless cooperation to the LABARD. He said that disability in Pakistan is a biggest challenge and it is our prime duty to play our role to cope with this challenge. He said that LABARD is providing educational, employment and medical facilities to the disabled persons and over 70 institutions are being used for the purpose. He said that LABARD is planning to establish its own vocational center and work on project would start soon.
The LCCI Vice President Nasir Saeed said that there is a need to launch specific programmes for training and education of disabled persons. He said that the special persons possess God gifted qualities but we all should make collective efforts for enhancing their skills so that they could become useful members of the society.
Nasir Saeed said that the LABARD Mela is aimed at creating awareness and understanding about disability issues to mobilize support for practical action at all levels.
LABARD Secretary General Saeed Khan said that LABARD Mela for the special children has become an annual cultural event of the City as is being participated by a large number of disabled persons who enjoy all the entertainments like other healthy members of the society.
The special children belonging to various institutions took part in different activities at the Mela, jointly organized by the LABARD and Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA).
