When the State Turns Away from the Blind
Asem Mustafa Awan
Islamabad: The pavement outside the Lahore Press Club has become an unlikely shelter for people who have little left to offer the state except their patience. Wrapped in blankets and lying close to one another against the cold, visually impaired protesters are once again demanding permanent employment and the dignity of an independent life.
Their protest is not about special treatment. It is about access to opportunities that should be available to every citizen. For people with visual disabilities, secure employment can mean independence, the ability to support a family and freedom from dependence on others. Yet repeated demonstrations suggest that even obtaining these basic opportunities remains a prolonged struggle.
In November 2026, visually impaired daily-wage employees staged another sit-in outside the Lahore Press Club, demanding permanent appointments. Reports said the demonstration had entered its third day, with protesters complaining that no government representative had arrived to negotiate.
What makes the situation particularly disturbing is its history. In December 2014, police baton-charged visually impaired demonstrators in Lahore who were demanding implementation of the employment quota. Several were reported injured, and an inquiry was ordered.
In 2018, the Lahore High Court sought explanations from the Punjab government and police over alleged use of force against protesters seeking permanent jobs and timely salaries.
The cycle continued in October 2024, when visually impaired protesters again clashed with police during demonstrations over employment quotas. Protesters reported injuries, while police disputed allegations of baton-charge. The Punjab government subsequently directed officials to exercise restraint and address their grievances through dialogue.
Pakistan ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2011. The principle behind such commitments is straightforward: disability must not become a reason for exclusion from employment, public life or equal opportunity.
Yet promises and legal provisions mean little if people must repeatedly leave their homes, gather outside government offices and sleep on cold pavements to seek their implementation.
The police are responsible for maintaining order, but peaceful citizens exercising their right to protest deserve protection, not intimidation. Government departments must also move beyond temporary assurances and address employment, regularisation and accessibility through measurable action.
These people have already spent years waiting for an answer. Their disability should never become an excuse for official indifference.
The measure of a society is not how it treats those who can demand their rights loudly, but whether it listens to those who struggle simply to be heard.
