ISLAMABAD - To serve its visually impaired guests, Islamabad Serena Hotel has launched Braille Menu earning the name of being the first hotel in Pakistan to launch such a facility for the persons with disabilities. The hotel under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme observed 'International Day of Disabled Persons Friday in which apart from sharing the importance of the day the Braille menu was also introduced. The theme of the day was 'keeping the promise: mainstreaming disability in the Millennium Development Goals towards 2015 and beyond. The General Manager of Islamabad Serena Hotel Peter Hill highlighting the importance of the day said the international day of persons with disabilities aims to promote a better understanding of disability issues with a focus on the rights of persons with disabilities. He was of the view that it also emphasises the need for integration of persons with disabilities in all aspects of the political, social, economic and cultural lives of their communities as they can play a crucial role in the development of the country if provided proper guidance. He also informed about the facilities that the hotel has been providing for the persons with disabilities besides the Braille menu which will help such customers to order food on their own. Telling about the CSR Programme-SEED (Serena Environmental & Educational Development) of the hotel he said it promotes and refers to the impact they intend to have on the environment and the community development through social, economical and educational development, beyond the traditional responsibility of maximising returns to investors. President STEP, a nongovernmental organisation, Chairperson of South Asian Disability Forum and Director Development of Disabled Peoples International Pakistan Muhammad Atif Sheikh was also present on the event along with other persons with various disabilities from different walks of life. He regretted that despite that 10 per cent of the population of Pakistan is with various disabilities still there is no proper legislation available to facilitate and the policy for special persons that came in 2002 has also not been implemented. He urged the Government to accelerate its ongoing process to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). He stressed that such people should have access to opportunities in every sphere of life and they should also have the representation in the parliament so that they can play their role in the society and lead a normal life.