• President has taken a strong exception to the denial of opportunity to a blind person.
• He termed the premature denial of the opportunity to take the examination by ANF’s staff an act of maladministration.
•  He said noted that ANF’s act was in total disregard to human rights, adding that Pakistan was a signatory to many international charters and treaties against discrimination of all sorts.

ISLAMBAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has taken a strong exception to the denial of opportunity to a blind person, who had applied for the post of Assistant (BS-15) in the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), and was barred from taking the examination by the invigilator on the ground that he was blind and was unable to perform the duties of the Assistant.

“We need to make a special effort for differently-abled people to make them part of our society and enable them to earn their livelihood. However, through such acts, we will make them a social burden on the nation. Have a heart!”, said the President.

He termed the premature denial of the opportunity to take the examination by ANF’s staff an act of maladministration and remanded the case to the Wafaqi Mohtasib to hear it afresh on merit with the direction to decide the matter within 30 days.

While deciding on a representation filed by  Suleman Arshad (the complainant) against a decision of the Wafaqi Mohtasib, the President said that the attitude of ANF’s staff was reprehensible and it smacked of an ignorance bias. He added that there was no rule to reject a person, that too by an invigilator who was supposed to only conduct the examination, without affording him the opportunity to show his skill or giving him a hearing.

He said that the ANF’s stance that a blind man would require an additional person for the discharge of his functions and that the complainant was not fit for the Secretariat nature job was rooted in ignorance.

He said that he had given Presidential Awards to blind people who had performed excellently, adding that there were hundreds of cases of visually impaired Pakistanis who had done exceptional work even internationally.

He said noted that ANF’s act was in total disregard to human rights, adding that Pakistan was a signatory to many international charters and treaties against discrimination of all sorts, including gender and disabilities.

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As per details, Suleman Arshad had applied for the post of Assistant in ANF against its advertisement published on 29.11.2020. According to him, on the test day, after arriving at the venue, the concerned officer of the ANF had not allowed him to appear in the examination.