Annual Grant-in-aid Of Rs. 16mln Approved For Persons With Disabilities To Play Sports: Junaid

PESHAWAR, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Aug, 2018 ) :To facilitate and involve the persons with disabilities in sports activities a grant-in-aid of Rs. 16 million has been approved in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, DG Sports KP Junaid Khan told APP here on Sunday.

He said a grant of Rs. 16 million has been approved initially to hold Paralympic Games for the persons with disabilities on annual basis besides giving grant-in-aid to the associations currently working for players with disabilities.

"We have divided the persons with disabilities in three different categories � blind players, players on wheelchairs, and persons with standing disabilities," he elaborated.

He said the associations of blind cricketers, wheelchairs players and persons with standing disabilities are working hard and their players also shined at national and international levels.

He disclosed that it was decided that Rs. 16 million would be utilized for holding Special Games and out of that amount Rs. 0.6 million will be given annually to the blind cricketers, players, wheelchairs players and players with standing disabilities as grant-in-aid. "We are giving grant-in-aid to the associations affiliated with KP Olympic Association on annual basis and this time included grant-in-aid for those working for persons with disabilities," he added.

The grant-in-aid would be increased certainly, he said, adding, it is an initial grant-in-aid so that they could at least start their activities. He expressed the hope that with such facilities more special players would come up come up at national and international levels through competitions.

"We have prepared a comprehensive plan in the light of the recently announced sports policy by last KP govt and we are sure enough that with the implementations of that sports policy we could be able to bring KP sportsmen and sportswomen at bar with other leading provinces," Junaid Khan said.

He said there were an estimated 3.28 million people with disabilities in Pakistan according to the 1998 census, the most recent available data as of 2015, including 1.37 million women. This would make them 2.49% of the population in that year.

There are 531 special schools in Pakistan and about 200 non-governmental organizations and disabled people's organizations offering education to people with disabilities so it is our moral obligations to involve these children, youngsters male and female in health sports activities, he remarked.

Pakistan is a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, having signed the treaty on September 15, 2008 and ratified it on July 5, 2011 so we want all that youth to be bring back to playing fields as desired by legendary Imran Khan and that is why Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the first province holding Paralympic Games on regular basis.

"Recently we organized Special Games for persons with disabilities in Abbottabad wherein players from all across Pakistan took part," he said. Pakistani players have been competing at the Paralympic Games from 1992, so far, Pakistan's players recorded excellent result in that Games by recording their presence. "Our Pakistan national blind cricket team has participated in every editions of the Blind Cricket World Cup as well as in the Blind T20 World Cup Tournaments. The Pakistan blind cricket team has won 2 Blind Cricket World Cup titles in 2002 and 2006. Hence became the first visually impaired cricket team to win 2 consecutive Blind Cricket World Cup titles. The Pakistani blind cricket team also emerged as runners-up to South Africa in the inaugural edition of the Blind Cricket World Cup in 1998 and runners-up to India in both Blind T20 World Cup tournaments," Junaid Khan disclosed. "We had enrolled 2004 Olympian as caretaker in Hayatabad Sports Complex so that he could work for the promotion of Paralympic Sports and persons with disabilities," he said.

He said, Masood Jan, blind cricketer, is hailing from KP, holds the record for registering the highest individual innings in a Blind One-Day International so the talent is there but needs to be polished accordingly.

He said for those those with disabilities, there are many adaptive sports and recreation programs that can be enjoyed for health, wellness, and leisure, social, and competition benefits. He said there are numbers of sports including for persons with disabilities comprising cycling, wheelchair sports, cricket, golf, horseback ridings, shooting, archery, pool, fishing, hunting, table tennis, sailing, fencing, rugby, bowling, softball, water skiing, tennis, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair cricket, swimming, snow skiing while sitting on snow board, sitting volleyball. Several organizations are devoted to providing people with disabilities the opportunity to enjoy sports and recreation of all kinds.