WHEN millions are ignored by the state, it is not the people who are disabled, it is the system. Governments have come and gone, each pledging to build a more inclusive Pakistan, yet persons with disabilities continue to face barriers that should have been dismantled decades ago. Today, on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, it is shameful to note that our public spaces remain inaccessible, our support programmes underfunded, and our societal attitudes deeply discriminatory. The 2023 census lists 7.4m people as ‘disabled’. Yet when measured through the internationally accepted Washington Group criteria, the same census records 23.17m Pakistanis living with functional limitations. This vast discrepancy exposes how disability has long been undercounted and sidelined. The state continues to approach disability through charity, not legal entitlement. Public buildings lack ramps, transport systems are rarely accessible, and workplaces seldom offer the basic adjustments that allow people to participate fully. Even simple tasks such as boarding a bus, accessing a clinic, or applying for a job are shaped more by institutional indifference than a person’s condition.

Employment captures the scale of exclusion. Pakistan’s quota system is rarely implemented, leaving PWDs facing high unemployment and wasting a significant pool of potential talent. Education remains another major fault line. Many children with disabilities never reach school at all. Those who do, find materials and teachers unequipped to support them. Girls face the steepest barriers, particularly in conservative and remote areas. Limited transport, fragile health services and low digital access turn disability into a deepening poverty trap. Social protection schemes exist but are underfunded, bureaucratic, and difficult to navigate, often deterring those who need them most. Pakistan does not lack laws. It lacks implementation and sustained political will. Genuine inclusion would strengthen the workforce, improve cohesion and restore dignity, creating a society to which every citizen is finally able to belong.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2025