Special courts for disabled persons established in Sindh

KARACHI: On the request of Sindh government Chief Justice of Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered for the establishment of special courts for the disabled persons in all district headquarters of Sindh.

Following the legislation of Sindh Assembly ‘Sindh Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act 2018’, Sindh Law Department subsequent the directions of Sindh chief minister requested for the formation of special courts for disable persons. Sindh High Court under Subsection 1 of Section 33 of same Act ordered for the formation of such courts.

The Sindh Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act is the first meaningful legislation in Pakistan to empower the disable persons followed by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The act has repealed the ‘Sindh Differently Abled Persons Act, 2014’, which was amended in 2017 to increase the employment quota from two to five per cent. This law goes much further; for the first time, all disabilities have been defined in detail, signaling a major departure from earlier federal and provincial laws that recognised only four categories, physically impaired, visually impaired, hearing impaired and ‘mental retardation’.