PESHAWAR, Nov 6: Peshawar has been declared disabled-friendly city, Nilofar Bakhtiar, adviser to the prime minister on social welfare, health and women development, said.

Briefing reporters here at the Peshawar Press Club on Thursday after her meeting with NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah on matters relating to the disabled people, women’s development and child abuse, Nilofar Bakhtiar said the governor had taken this decision.

Now it would be the duty of the government to construct separate toilets for the disabled people at all the important places in the city, she added.

She said a committee had been constituted under the guidance of Begum Shamim Iftikhar, wife of governor, to expedite efforts for the welfare of women, children and the disabled.

She said they had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Capital Development Authority for the provision of separate facilities to the disabled people in Islamabad.

Ms Bakhtiar said a piece of land measuring 450 acres had been acquired in Islamabad for the development of a park to be dedicated for the disabled people. It will have all types of facilities for them.

She said the government would introduce a bill in parliament for the enhancement of quota for the disabled people in the government services up to grade-22. At present, the disabled persons had one per cent quota in posts up to grade-16 in the government sector. She described it as insufficient.

She said the Punjab governor had agreed to declare Lahore a disabled-friendly city.

The women police stations had failed to deliver any good to the womenfolk, after which the government had decided to establish women complaint cell, to be headed by a woman police officer, at every police station, she added.

Similarly, she said, separate women enclosures would be set up at all the Friday and Sunday bazaars across the country.

She said that economic resource centres for women would be set up all over the country, which would also work as display centres for items manufactured by women.