MIRAMSHAH:
While Pakistan is still struggling to eradicate the crippling polio virus, a top pro-government warlord in the North Waziristan tribal agency has banned vaccinations in the region saying the healthcare drive was a cover for US spies.
The announcement was made by warlord Hafiz Gul, who has a non-aggression treaty with Pakistani authorities and who, the United States, believes is playing host to the Haqqani network – the deadly Taliban group blamed for most violence in neighbouring Afghanistan.
“As long as drone strikes are not stopped in Waziristan there will be a ban on administering polio jabs,” Bahadur said in pamphlets distributed in Miramshah.
The decision was taken by the Higher Council of Mujahideen in consultation with other members, it adds. “No one will have the right to complain about damage in case of any violation.”
A copy of the pamphlet, titled Mas’ul-o-Khadimul Mujahideen, is available with The Express Tribune.
It says the people of Waziristan do not require help from the United States which, on the one hand, is spending billions of dollars on eradicating polio, while killing innocent tribesmen on the other hand.
“Polio infects one child in a million, but hundreds of Waziri women, children and elders have been killed in drone strikes,” it adds and blames Pakistan’s government for being hand in glove with the US.
The pamphlet cites the case of Shakil Afridi, the doctor who might have helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden through a vaccination drive in Abbottabad, last year.
“Polio campaigns are also used to spy for America against the Mujahideen, one example of which is Dr Shakil Afridi,” it says. Pakistan is one of the few countries that still harbours the polio virus, including a strain found nowhere else in Asia, but some clerics have condemned the vaccine, putting thousands of people off vaccinating their children
Electricity before vaccination
Meanwhile, tribal elders in North Waziristan vowed to continue boycotting polio vaccination drives until the government electrifies the region.
The boycott was announced at a grand jirga of Asad Khel, Dhur Dhanee, Muskee and Dosalee tribes on Saturday.
The elders said they have been deprived of electricity for the past 30 years. They accused the local political administration of siphoning off Rs34million set aside for the provision of a new electricity line to the region.
“We have been without electricity for the last 30 years and the government is ignoring the problem. They have not bothered to look into the matter despite repeated requests and protests. We have no option but to boycott vaccination drives,” an elder of Dhur Dhanee tribe, Malik Mashal Khan, told The Express Tribune, “Our children die of scorching heat and mosquito bites, what difference does it make if they die of polio? We will continue our boycott until the government fulfills our demand,” Khan said. The political administration of North Waziristan told The Express Tribune that it could not take any action against the tribe until a new political agent was appointed.
(Additional reporting by Zulfiqar Ali in D I Khan)
Published In The Express Tribune, June 17th, 2012.
COMMENTS (31)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
This is the level of education and compassion in and for their fellow humans. The Americans could not give a damn, they will just say, "your problem, not ours."
Obviously, the drones are doing their job and it is hurting the Taliban. Frankly, this is a sign and foreboding that all is not well in that area. With the present state of affairs in the economy and the NATO supply route, one wonders what the situation will be during elections, if any.
Salams to Pakistan
@Basit: not only your point, but look at Obama's "czar" appointed Director of "Science and Technology" has to say The population at large could be sterilized by infertility drugs intentionally put into the nation’s drinking water or in food; Single mothers and teen mothers should have their babies seized from them against their will and given away to other couples to raise; People who “contribute to social deterioration” (i.e. undesirables) “can be required by law to exercise reproductive responsibility”—in other words, be compelled to have abortions or be sterilized. A transnational “Planetary Regime” should assume control of the global economy and also dictate the most intimate details of Americans’ lives—using an armed international police force.
Bill Gates is pro-population control.
Any world power that is so sadistic as to use depleted uranium on arbitrary peoples I think would have no qualms about poisoning anyone covertly using seemingly innocuous means.
Whether
That's quite a solution. Punish your local population to stop external aggression. I don't know what planet these people live on.
How many countries have "warlords" controlling large sections of their territory? Says something about Pakistan's control over this territory and puts all the sovereignty nonsense into perspective.
@Basit: I am sure you wouldn't deny vaccination for your own children, but you want to deny to other children. Hypocritical?
These freedom fighters are waging a jihad against NATO by keeping our children in the harm's way. Yet they are our best friends and brothers. Man is recognized by the company he keeps.
/where is Pakistan government sovereignty here? Some warlord can actually enforce non-implementation of polio vaccine and government and the powerful nuclear armed army will helplessly standby and see its children suffer?
Death by virus. The new biological warfare or just sheer blackmail.
@menteliscio: "Thank you Dr Shakil!"
It's easy to blame Shakil Afridi. There is a reason why Pakistan is one of the only 3 countries to still have polio. Unfortunately until very recently, India was also amongst this very shameful list. The reason is that rumours were spread among Muslim community that polio vaccines were a trap to tomake the child impotent and reduc eMuslim population. This misinformation was not spread by Shakil Afridi.
I wonder if this [adjective deleted because ET is a scaredy cat] mullah has heard the expression: Cutting your nose to spite your face?
This will eventually cause the rest of the world to ban Pakistanis from entering their countries. Send in your storm troopers with the medics. Inoculate at gun point.
Never ending story... :(
No polio vaccines till halt of drone strikes and also till all of the tribal regions are electrified??? Since these people are both illogical appear to be maleficient towards their own children , i think the government needs to try harder to bring them under its control or else we will end up with a crippled, sick population who hates everyone (including its own women and children) is armed to the teeth and supports militants. This sounds like a very scary situation.
what a logic from peace lovers!!
What is the relation between the two: Drone and Polio? For God's sake, please donot associate Polio vaccination with US. Polio eradication campaign is from World Health Organisation ( WHO) which was funded by 193 countries including Pakistan. It is beyond my comprhension how drones and Polio are interlinked. Americans must be laughing at the ignorance. Please donot undermine the importance of WHO by equating it with US. WHO is as much as for Pakistanis as for US.
@Basit: You can run your own polio eradication campaign provided Pakistan cares about it's children and has the funds to manufacture and distribute it. The polio vaccine is not patented so you can make it. It was invented by the Jonas Edward Salk who didn't patent it so it would not become expensive and out of reach for the world's poor. Guess what he was a big bad Jew.
It is as simple as If you kill our people We will paralyse our children It can happen only in a LAND OF PUREi appreciate the move of Taliban they have very strong reasons to ban the vaccine campaign
So if US doesn’t stop drones, we will have our children crippled! What a stupid logic; no wonder he is a warlord
If the drones dont kill our children, polio will! Using your own children to blackmail! How classy! and then people say that the people in North Waziristan are happy to live under these murderous thugs! This is like saying, if you dont shoot us, we will shoot ourselves!
What Drone attacks has to do with Polio Shots? Should we stop eating also because of Drone attacks? What strange logic?
“As long as drone strikes are not stopped in Waziristan there will be a ban on administering polio jabs,” Bahadur said in pamphlets distributed in Miramshah. Typical Pakistani state tactic of blackmailing the world with a gun pointing to its own head. How will drone strike stoppage stops the CIA agents in a polio vaccination. What is the connection ?
Is this 'negotiation with a gun to one's head' a Pakistani innovation or what? Do the Mujahideen believe that if they refuse to administer polio drops to the children of Waziristan, somehow the drones will get crippled? The people of Waziristan should realise, these thugs have no compunctions in using the children of Waziristan as a shield. Kick them out now.
As allways twisted logic gets more support than the direct solution.
" Let the child die of polio, we can have more children" logic ignores the child bearer -the women.
No one is bothered to ask, why the drones are there in the first place.
Polio leaves the ordinary citizens in a crippling life while the war lords are carried in palanquin.
@Basit:
very logical argument. But is it true. Please look at the rates of deaths of innocents in drone attacks. The Friday Times ran this series about a month ago.
Fact is that ignorance is what these vultures thrive on and we give them more and more ammunition to kill our children and families.
Drone attacks are bad we all agree but why punish children for that? Polio ruins life and that too in a poor area like Waziristan; a child with polio has no hope.
Thank you Dr Shakil!
“Polio infects one child in a million, but hundreds of Waziri women, children and elders have been killed in drone strikes,”
Actually, a very logical argument. American funded aid projects are most often used as cover for spies. Even the Kerry-Lugar act, as admitted by Sen. John Kerry in a recent NPR interview, was used for injecting CIA and JSOC into Pakistan in the form of contractors, aid workers etc. It is no surprise that our liberals also were the most supportive of the Kerry-Lugar act with only the military opposing it as they knew the real intentions behind it.
Whatever one may feel about Taliban, the liberal obsession with using drones and foreigners to fight what they keep saying is "our war" is contradictory and doomed to failure.