Conference on barrier free environments for disabled today
By Ali Imran

ISLAMABAD—Social Welfare and Special Education Ministry would organize the National Conference on "Barrier Free Environments for Persons with Disabilities" here on Saturday.
The conference would provide an enabling environment that would allow full realization of the potential of challenged persons through their inclusive mainstreaming. It would also help finalize recommendations for design manual, model projects and building bye-laws report for creation of barrier free environment for challenges persons.
Caretaker Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education, Barrister Shahida Jamil would inaugurate the conference. Secretary Social Welfare and Special Education Rasool Bux Baloch, Director General, Directorate General of Social Welfare, Sarfraz Ahmed Syed and the representatives from Ministries of Education, Housing and Work, Women Development, local and foreign NGOs and donors would also attend the event.
Official said here Friday that the ministry has already taken a number of initiatives for the welfare and rehabilitation of disabled persons.
A National Plan of Action had already been launched for effectiveimplementation of the initiatives and policies for the welfare of disabledpersons, he added.
One of the major thrust areas of this Plan was disabled friendly barrier free physical environment, which include physical access, transportation, communication and employment, he added.
As a first step, five major cities including Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar have been declared disabled friendly cities and necessary modifications in the already constructed infrastructure are underway in collaboration with the CDA and Provincial/District governments, he added.