SWABI, May 6: Khidmat-i-Mazooran (KM), a welfare organisation, handed over 105 wheel-chairs to special people, 30 of them females, at a function here on Sunday.

MNA Maulana Khalil Ahmad said that it was the responsibility of the society to support the disabled, adding that it must not fail in this. He said the wheelchairs were like a ray of hope for the disabled an would ensure their mobility and independence.

“I extend complete support to the organisation and their continued efforts in welfare work. The genuine help of the society can enable the disabled to live with dignity and honour,” he said.

District Nazim Shahram Khan announced that an ambulance would be arranged for KM to take the disabled for treatment to Islamabad and Peshawar. He said that their journey without a special vehicle had always been a hassle for them.

He claimed that the government had plans to improve the lives of the physically handicapped by improving access in buildings, greater transport facilities, provision of jobs and opportunities to enhance communication skills.

Provincial vice-president of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf Asad Qaisar announced that he would finance the establishment of a computer and handicraft centre for the disabled in the district.

He said the training imparted to the disabled at the centres would help them in earning a livelihood.

President KM Sher Rehman urged philanthropists to come forward to finance a hospital for the handicapped people. “We have already acquired land for the hospital,” he claimed.

He informed that the National Institute of Handicapped had donated the wheel-chairs to his organisation.

President of Parmakhtag, Asad Qaisar, presided over the meeting that was attended by leaders of political parties and welfare bodies, including PML-Q general secretary Malik Azeem and president of a welfare body for Thalassaemia Syed Muqadar Shah.