Before 2008, Baltistan had no organisation led by persons with disabilities themselves. A CHIP-run project that year began sensitising 31 villages to disability rights, and by 2011 the self-help groups it had formed were ready to stand on their own — in July that year, their members decided to form Karakoram Disability Forum. KDF was registered on 6th October 2011 under the Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies Registration & Control Ordinance 1961 (registration no. RA-SKD-311/2011), and today counts 45 general body members and a 6-member executive body.
Its vision: "An inclusive society where every member of the community has access to all services, information and opportunities irrespective of their different statuses and abilities." Its mission: to contribute to inclusive development by realising and fulfilling self-responsibility, helping each other in a disciplined way — built on three core values: Unity, Faith, and Justice.
None of it is separate. A member who gets an assistive device this month may be the one arguing for a Disability Act in the GB Assembly next year, or running the Stationary Shop the year after. The thread runs through all of it.
Advocacy & Rights
Raising voice for the constitutional rights of persons with disabilities — a track record that includes the Disability Act, Gilgit-Baltistan 2019, passed with KDF, WHO, Sight Savers, and CHIP pushing the GB Assembly together.
Independent Living
Running the Disability Assessment and Resource Center at DHQ Hospital and the Independent Living Centre near SCO Mess, RHQ Hospital — referrals, assistive devices, and rehabilitation support.
Economic Empowerment
The Stationary Shop social enterprise, running since 2011, reinvests 80% of its profit back into the business — livelihood and skill enhancement in members' own hands, not charity.
