Seven schools involved in anti-polio propaganda sealed in Peshawar

School management found guilty of inciting parents to violence against polio teams and mass hysteria

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has sealed seven private schools responsible for spreading hate and inciting parents to violence, resulting in attacks on polio vaccination teams and mass hysteria in Peshawar last month.

The management of these schools was found guilty of spreading disinformation against the anti-polio vaccine, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication Programme Babar Bin Atta said in a tweet on Wednesday.

07 Private Schools responsible for #PeshawarPolioDrama sealed by KP Government moments ago. The management of these schools was found gulity of spreading hate & inciting innocent parents to violence resulting in attacks on Polio teams & mass hysteria. pic.twitter.com/6OGLwA2VfP

— Babar Atta (@babarbinatta) May 29, 2019

On April 22, protesters burnt down a health facility in the K-P capital following reports that multiple children had allegedly fallen sick after consuming anti-polio vaccine.

Suspect arrested in Peshawar after conspiring against anti-polio campaign

The protest was triggered by hearsay as medics at Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital, where most of the children were taken, said that an overwhelming majority of them were fine.

The protesters mobbed the Basic Health Unit Mashokhel, ransacked the premises before setting it on fire.

Officials believe the situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is turning out to be alarming since 10 of the total 15 polio cases have been reported from the province this year.

Alarm bells in K-P after 10 polio cases reported in 2019 thus far

Earlier this month, in a letter written to K-P authorities, Atta had said the current situation needed to be dealt efficiently and aggressively through collective efforts by all stakeholders. However, the main responsibility fell on shoulders of the respective district management, he maintained.