The Punjab government on Tuesday took notice as the police clashed with visually impaired protesters at Lahore’s Mall Road.

Talking to Dawn.com, Abdul Shakoor, a protester, said that people with disabilities had been holding demonstrations in the city for the last nine days, demanding the government revoke a ban imposed on job quotas for the disabled.

He said that on Tuesday, 40 people were injured in clashes with the police as demonstrators tried to approach the Chief Minister’s House, adding that they were admitted to Lahore’s Services Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

Shakoor alleged that the police baton-charged the protesters and that 600-700 demonstrators were now encamped outside the CM House.

He further claimed that there were 7,000 vacant seats for disabled persons in 40 government departments, adding that despite only 1,500 people demanding jobs, their requests were still not being considered.

Shakoor said that the protest was being held to demand permanent jobs, adding that around 600 people from the crowd were given jobs as daily-wage earners, so they were not satisfied.

Meanwhile, statements from the police spokesperson said that no violence was used against the protesters and there was no veracity to the reports of baton-charging.

The statements said the police were determined to maintain law and order and were taking the necessary steps to do so.

Taking notice of the matter, Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz ordered that the protesters not be dealt with strictly or harshly.

She directed Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman to resolve the problems of the protesters by talking to them.

The chief minister also expressed her sympathies with the injured police personnel due to the “torture being committed by the visually impaired people” and directed that the protesters be treated with patience.

“CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif directed the police that they are differently-abled persons, we understand their problems, therefore, we must show restraint to them. The visually impaired people have staged a sit-in in favour of their demands at Faisal Chowk, Lahore,” said a statement issued on her X account.

A similar protest was held by visually impaired people in December 2020 in Lahore to press the government to take steps for the implementation of their job quota.

In 2019, there was a sit-in at Charing Cross and despite a cold wave, the protesters ended up sleeping on the pavement.

Even before that, in 2014, there was another big protest which lasted for three days. There was a police crackdown on the protesters who were baton-charged, though police later denied this.

Internationally, Pakistan is bound to implement all the laws concerning not just visually challenged people but also persons with disabilities (PWDs).

In 2016, Pakistan signed and agreed to work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unlike the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the SDGs of the 2030 agenda are more inclusive of the PWDs’ rights as they make around 11 explicit references to the PWDs’ rights. As a result, the federal and provincial governments have established SDG units in their planning and development departments.

In 2011, Pakistan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is closely connected to the SDGs.

In order to provide PWDs with job opportunities, a job quota was set aside. Sindh and Balochistan had a quota of two to five per cent, while Punjab and KP had a quota of 2pc, which was later increased to 3pc.