KARACHI: The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPD), Government of Sindh, strongly rejected the protest staged by a small group of visually impaired persons under the banner of Sindh Blind Haq ki Awaz outside the Karachi Press Club on Friday.
The DEPD said in a statement that their demands for direct government employment without following the due process of law are unlawful and cannot be entertained. They are also demanding jobs disproportionately bypassing persons with disabilities falling in different categories of PWDs. According to law and rules, government employment is required to be provided through District Recruitment Committee (DRC) after these posts are advertised in newspapers.
The DEPD clarified that it has been allocated a budget of Rs17 billion for 2025–26. This allocation reflects the government’s strong commitment towards the welfare, empowerment, and inclusion of PWDs in Sindh. The DEPD continues to undertake a range of welfare-oriented initiatives aimed at rehabilitation, skill development, and mainstreaming of differently-abled individuals on its own and through NGOs. Key areas of focus include: vocational training and skill development; rehabilitation services; assistive devices and enabling environment; and inclusive development programmes.
These services are meant for PWDs including visual impaired individuals and they have been availing all of these services from different public institutes and NGOs.
Last year, 156 visually impaired persons were provided jobs on a contingent basis in different district administrations. These protesting individuals are part of this group of 156 employed persons. Many of them have been regularized through DRC under the chairmanship of respective deputy commissioners. This has also been admitted by protesting individuals. DEPS has also forwarded/conveyed the names of protesting individuals to respective deputy commissioners to consider them through the DRC as per law and rules. Beside, all DCs have been requested to conduct DRCs in the districts.
These protesting visually impaired persons are adamant to secure government jobs, which is possible only after fulfilling due process of law. They have also failed to provide attendance record from 1st April, 2024 as they are working/employed in various districts.