Government must protect rights of visually impaired workers

Lahore, 15 October. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) supports the ongoing protest by visually impaired persons at Charing Cross in Lahore. The protestors, comprising provincial government employees, say they have been working on a daily wage basis for the last five years, which barely allows them to make ends meet. Moreover, many have complained that they received their wages for June to August three months late.

This is an unacceptable situation: HRCP strongly urges the Punjab government to support the right of persons living with disabilities (PLWDs) to earn, at the very least, a living wage – especially when they are more likely than others to be affected by spiralling inflation.

Protestors also claim that, in April this year, the Punjab Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare, Raja Basharat, promised on behalf of the provincial Chief Minister that the government would make their employment permanent. This pledge has evidently not been honoured and HRCP urges the government to take prompt action to resolve the protestors’ legitimate demands. Having ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the state is legally bound to address the concerns of PLWDs across the country.

On behalf of Dr Mehdi Hasan

Chairperson