PESHAWAR, May 30: Special people are also a part of society and need government’s support and encouragement to live a normal life, says 40-year-old Intizar Khan whose height is only three and a half feet. Intizar, who heads an organization of 34 people of small size in Karak, laments that none of the governments in the past paid attention to problems and needs of special people. “Though our needs are limited, we still need support and encouragement from the government to live a normal and honourable life.”

The organization, Khattak Sitaray, was formed in 2004 with the aim of creating awareness among people that tiny people like other special people deserve respect and proper treatment in the society. “We have time and again asked the government to announce some incentives for people like us in the form of job quota in government departments and financial support for the needy,” he said.

Sporting moustaches perhaps too big for his size, Intizar Khan complained that people often treated special people as objects of fun. “They look at us as if we belong to some rare species rather than people with physical abnormality, which makes us sick and breaks our hearts,” he told this reporter in Karak.

The presence of a man of small height among people of normal size was like a surprise for children of his size, who loitered around his seat.

The conversation at the gathering centred on Intizar, who had an amusing comment to make. “This figure is the result of the apathy of the people of normal stature.”

Intizar Khan, who dropped out when he was in 5th class, is a resident of Eisak Chontra village near Karak. His parents and all siblings (five brothers and two sisters) are of normal height.

“We find solace in the fact that we are a source of joy for others. But at the same time we also feel hurt. This may be because of our unusual size. We definitely feel bad when people of normal height ridicule us and consider us as mere a plaything,” Intizar said.