KARACHI, Feb 15 (APP):President Dr. Arif Alvi on Wednesday urged the banking sector and state institutions to make collective efforts for the employability, facilitation and acceptability of differently-abled people (DAPs) to make the society more inclusive, besides making them active and productive citizens.
He gave these remarks during a follow-up meeting on women empowerment and inclusion of persons with different abilities with representatives of banks, State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, FIA and others, at the Governor House.
Arif Alvi suggested that the banking sector should devise an annual reward mechanism to encourage the banks which were performing well in the areas of women empowerment and financial inclusion of persons with disabilities.
During the meeting, the president said businesses should not solely focus on enhancing their profitability but should also dispense their responsibilities towards society to help the marginalized segments of the society, especially persons with disabilities.
Banking Industry should develop win-win partnerships with NGOs or private organizations to promote inclusiveness and development in the society through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, he added.
The president also called for hiring focal persons on sign language in each bank to provide assistance to visually and hearing-impaired persons.
He said all government and private organizations, civil society, chambers of commerce and industry, banks etc. would have to play a key role in ensuring the acceptability and employability of differently-abled persons.
He appreciated the role of banks in improving the indicators of women empowerment and addressing issues of differently-abled people.
The president advised all the stakeholders to come up with a calculated and time-bound approach to address issues and challenges relating to women’s empowerment and the financial inclusion of differently-abled persons.
Arif Alvi appreciated the role of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority in creating mass awareness regarding persons with disabilities.
He said around 24% of the population in Pakistan suffered from mental stress, adding that PTA would also be asked to create mass awareness about issues related to mental health through mobile service messages.
Talking on the occasion, First Lady Begum Samina Alvi urged that promoting self-reliance and employment of differently-abled persons should go hand in hand with charity. The training could also be provided to differently-abled persons to make them skilled and self-reliant in society, she added.
She also stressed the need for improving the accessibility of differently-abled people, especially to shopping centres, banks, restaurants, educational institutions and hospitals.
