President calls for career counselling of differently-abled persons.

ISLAMABAD -- President Dr Arif Alvi has highlighted the need for capacity building and career counselling of persons with different abilities (PWDs), and matching their skills with jobs.

He said that 10-14pc of Pakistan's population was suffering from some form of disability, adding that collective measures needed to be taken by the government and the private sector for the financial and social inclusion of PWDs.

The president gave these remarks during a presentation on 'The Role of Financial Services for the Facilitation of Persons with Disabilities' given by the chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), Dr Rashid Bajwa, at Aiwan-i-Sadr on Thursday. Technical advisor at World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr Maryam Mallick and senior government officials attended the meeting.

The president said that differently-able people (DAPs) in Pakistan faced various physical and financial limitations and they needed to be facilitated by being providing access to financial services and employment opportunities so they could be financially independent. He added that society must play its role for the welfare and facilitation of DAPs.

Dr Bajwa highlighted the steps taken by NRSP for the empowerment of DAPs and women and the support being...