KARACHI, Jan 14: Speakers at a function on Monday urged the authorities to provide equal opportunities to the handicapped in every field so that they could play their due role in the development and progress of society.

Speaking at an Eid Milan Party organized by the Pakistan Association of the Deaf at the PAD Park, they said given the equal opportunities the handicapped people would prove that they were equally efficient like their normal counterparts.

They said that the PAD was established in 1987 to solve the issues being faced by the deaf and it was providing various services, like providing computer training at the PAD computer literacy centre where trainers taught the students with the help of sign language.

They said the PAD was organizing sign language classes for the normal people also so that they could interact and communicate with the deaf people.

The PAD had also been providing the match-making service for the deaf people as a majority of these people faced great difficulties in finding their life partners.

They said that the PAD was also assisting the government to formulate a law under which the deaf people would be given driving licences.

They said that presently deaf people were given licences in many countries but they were not given licences here.

They said that this ground, where the function was being held, was given to the PAD by the then Sindh governor Moinuddin Haider under the KMC’s adopt-a-park scheme in April 24, 1999, to develop a park, recreation centre and playground for the deaf.

They said at that time this was a barren and uneven ground but now it has been developed where trainings for various games like cricket, basket ball, foot ball, karate, Taekwondo, are conducted.

They said that wife of the Chief Executive Sehba Musharraf had launched the tree plantation campaign, and also inaugurated the work for laying of the cricket pitch in the park last year.

They said that still the PAD planned to establish an art gallery, seminar hall, and a pavilion for the sportspersons at the park.

Laila Dossa, Nisar Ahmad, S. Shaukat Ali, S. Mohsin Ali, Shireen A. Dossani, Muneeb Mansoor, Mohammad Ismail, and others also spoke.

The speeches were also being “translated” simultaneously in to the sign language by Shehla and Saira Murad so that the PAD members could also understand. One of the guests also announced a donation of Rs 100,000 for the PAD.

Later, a fine display of martial arts (taekwondo) was given by four PAD members.