New law for special persons in the offing

LAHORE : Punjab Minister for Social Welfare and Treasury Syed Yawar Abbas Bukhari has said that by drafting a new comprehensive law for special persons the Punjab government has paved the way for a silent revolution.

Last year, 789 special persons were employed across the province and 324 special persons on daily wages have also been regularised so far.

Addressing a news conference on the preparation of a new law for special persons and other government initiatives at Lahore Press Club here Friday, he said the new law had been prepared in the light of the directions of the Lahore High Court and the court has appreciated this initiative. He said the law would be passed by the Punjab Assembly by November 8.

Secretary Social Welfare Punjab Hassan Iqbal, Director General Shahid Niaz and Senior Lawyer Siddique Azhar were also present in the press conference. The minister said that Pakistan had ratified the International Convention on Special Persons in 2011. Since then, no legislation has been enacted in Punjab to date. On the directions of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, the Social Welfare Department started work in this regard and consulted with all stakeholders. “After the passage of this law, Punjab will not lag behind in any way,” said Bukhari.

The government has increased the quota of special people in jobs to three percent. “Previously, it did not apply to organisations with less than 100 employees. The government has amended the rules in this regard and implemented the formula of implementing the 3% quota of the total workforce,” he told the media.

Bukhari said that under the new law, special children would have to be admitted to educational institutions. The minister said that the punishment for abuse of special persons was being increased. Further steps will be announced at an international conference on October 25. To reduce unemployment, 7,540 people were recruited in the public sector while 7,949 people were recruited in the private sector, the minister said. The process of issuance of disability certificate for special persons is being digitised and a pilot project will be inaugurated from Gujranwala.

PU mental health week: Punjab University Centre for Clinical Psychology (CCP) organised the concluding ceremony of Mental Health Awareness Week, 2021 here Friday.

The certificates of appreciation were presented to the participants, organisers and winners of poetry, poster and various competitions held in connection with the Week.

Dean Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences Dr Umbreen Javaid, Director CCP Prof Dr Saima Dawood, faculty members and students were present on the occasion.

Transferred: Higher Education Department (HED) Punjab has transferred Dr Muhammad Zia-ul-Rehman, Director Education (Colleges) Lahore.

Meanwhile, the department has posted Muhammad Suleman as the new Director Education (Colleges) Lahore.

Similarly, School Education Department (SED) Punjab has transferred Pervez Akhtar Khan Acting CEO of District Education Authority (DEA) Lahore and posted Muhammad Ghyas Saber as the Acting CEO, DEA Lahore.