BARA: Dozens of speech and hearing-impaired individuals gathered in front of the Bara Press Club to protest against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government for excluding them from the Chief Minister’s Relief Package.
The protesters, unable to speak or hear, used sign language to communicate their frustration to the media and authorities. Despite the lack of vocal chants, the atmosphere was charged with emotion as participants held up placards and banners demanding their rightful share in the government’s financial assistance programs.
According to the organizers of the protest, the provincial government’s recent relief initiative has completely overlooked the most vulnerable segment of society.
The protesters alleged that their names were omitted from the lists compiled for the Chief Minister’s Relief Package.
They highlighted that due to their disabilities and the prevailing inflation, they are facing extreme financial distress and are unable to meet basic needs.
The community felt that the district administration had failed to conduct an inclusive survey to identify deserving persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Through their representatives and sign-language interpreters, the protesters demanded an urgent inclusion of speech and hearing-impaired individuals in the CM’s Relief Package and other social safety nets like the Ehsaas or Benazir Income Support Program (BISP).
The allocation of a dedicated financial quota specifically for the deaf and vocally impaired community in Bara.
Strict implementation of the disabled persons’ job quota in all provincial government departments.
”Our silence should not be mistaken for satisfaction. We are citizens of this province, and the government is duty-bound to support us,” one protester gestured through an interpreter.
The protesters warned that if the provincial government and the district administration do not take immediate notice of their plight, they will be forced to expand their protest to the Governor House and Chief Minister House in Peshawar.
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