Religious scholars to support polio vaccination drive

EOC coordinator speaks at Jamia Ashrafia Peshawar

PESHAWAR: The Ulema Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have expressed their fullest support for the polio eradication campaign in the province and have also agreed that they would use their position to create awareness among people in the community.

A programme was held in Peshawar on Saturday at the Jamia e Ashrafia, which was attended by hundreds of religious scholars of Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa and erstwhile FATA.

While addressing the gathering the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Emergency Operation Centre Coordinator Captain (retd) Kamran that the only hurdles in eradication of the polio menace, was lack of awareness among the general public, while due to the closed religious affiliation of Pashtuns as a community compounded by misinformation and propaganda among the masses it had become an uphill task.

“We want a secure and healthy future for our new generation and it could be achieved through a cooperation from our religious leadership in the campaigns, we request and urged the Ulema of the province to play their due role in curbing the disease” Kamran Afridi stated.

While the speakers informed the Ulema that they had enhanced the age limit of the children from five to ten years they urged the religious scholars to convince those parents who have refused to let their children be administered the polio drops.

‘Polio workers our asset’

Prime Minister's Assistant on Anti-Polio Campaign Babar bin Atta said in his statement said that the killer of martyred polio workers Wajid Ali has been declared as terrorist and the Counter Counter-Terrorism Department will investigate this matter now.

Atta vowed that the murderer who took Wajid Ali’s life would be Religious scholars to support polio vaccination drive
arrested and face trial and justice will be served.

Wajid Ali, father of two children, was killed during a polio vaccination campaign in Mohmand Agency. Atta further said that tomorrow the country's anti-polio campaign is being started. Over 260,000 polio workers will be performing their duties and four million children will be vaccinated from polio drops.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2019.