LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif paid tribute on Thursday to the courage and resilience of visually impaired people as Pakistan marked White Cane Safety Day, but in Lahore the day also drew attention to how hard the city remains to navigate for those who rely on a cane.
In her message, the chief minister praised the achievements of visually impaired people in many fields, as well as the families and institutions that support them. The day, she said, highlighted the dignity of millions of people and the role of the white cane in helping them move through daily life independently. Her government was committed to protecting the rights, safety and independence of persons with disabilities, she said.
Tributes came from the top of the state. President Asif Ali Zardari called for better access to public places and essential services, describing the white cane as a mobility aid that opens the way to education and work. He praised the Pakistan Association of the Blind and pointed to Sindh’s dedicated Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities as a model other provinces could follow.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the federal government would work with the provinces on inclusive schools, accessible public spaces and transport, and urged society to remove the physical, social and institutional barriers facing people with disabilities. He singled out Saima Saleem, a visually impaired career diplomat who has represented Pakistan at the United Nations.
In Lahore, observances began early. Kinnaird College for Women marked the day on Oct 2 with the first event of its newly formed Uniquely Abled Club, held under the theme “A Lack of Sight Is Not a Lack of Vision”. “The white cane is not a sign of dependence; it is a sign of independence,”club president Aiman Bashir said.
For many of the city’s visually impaired residents, the daily reality is harder. Lahore’s footpaths are often broken or taken over by vendors and parked motorcycles, and few signals have audible crossing alerts or tactile paving, which advocates have long urged authorities to install.
Jobs remain the other sore point. Visually impaired protesters clashed with police on The Mall in October 2024 while trying to reach the chief minister’s office to demand permanent employment. Days later, Punjab reserved one percent of the three percent disability job quota for blind people and extended the contracts of 1,157 visually impaired daily-wage employees.
The wider health picture explains the scale of need. About 570,000 adults in Pakistan are blind because of cataracts alone and about 3.56 million have impaired vision from the condition, while the country has only 15 ophthalmologists per million people, according to figures reported in August.
White Cane Safety Day has been observed worldwide on Oct 15 since the 1960s. The cane, white with a red band at the tip, signals to drivers and pedestrians that its user is blind or partially sighted, and remains the most widely used aid for independent travel.
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