Refuse polio vaccine, risk losing your SIM and ID, Sindh tells families

CM Murad Shah says he has no other option but to penalise those who avoid their national duty of eradicating polio

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has warned of drastic action against parents who refuse to vaccinate their children against polio, including blocking their mobile SIM cards and suspending their national identity cards and passports, Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

“I have no other option but to penalise those who avoid their national duty of eradicating polio — a responsibility that begins at home and affects the entire province and country,” he said while presiding over a meeting on polio eradication at the CM House on Friday.

The chief minister announced the establishment of a dedicated Polio Vaccine Refusal Cell at the CM House, which will receive union council–wise data on refusal cases. The cell, he said, will be responsible for tackling resistance through social, political, and administrative measures.

Shah also ordered legal action against families refusing polio drops, stressing that refusal was unacceptable as it endangered not only their own children but also others by spreading the virus. He expressed regret that despite years of effort, polio cases continue to surface in Sindh. In the past week alone, two new cases were reported, bringing the provincial total to nine.

*وزیراعلیٰ سندھ سید مراد علی شاہ کی زیر صدارت انسداد پولیو کے حوالے سے اعلیٰ سطحی اجلاس*

صوبائی وزیر صحت، چیف سیکریٹری، آئی جی پولیس، میئر کراچی، کمشنر کراچی اور دیگر اجلاس میں شریک

اجلاس میں کراچی ڈویژن کے تمام اضلاع کے ڈپٹی کمشنرز موجود، حیدرآباد، میرپورخاص، شہید بینظیر آباد،… pic.twitter.com/S0yXALcUHJ

— Sindh Information Department (@sindhinfodepart) October 3, 2025

Across Pakistan, 29 cases have been confirmed this year with 18 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, nine in Sindh, and one each in Punjab and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.

During the briefing, Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho and EOC Coordinator Irshad Sodhar said new cases were detected in Thatta, Badin, Mithi, Umerkot, Hyderabad, Qambar, and Larkana. Most, they noted, were linked to parental refusal or children being absent during vaccination campaigns.

Shah was informed that environmental samples from multiple sites in Karachi, including Sohrab Goth, Orangi, Mosquito Colony, Rashid Minhas, and Hijrat Colony, had tested positive for the virus, showing its persistent circulation in urban areas.

He directed the Health Department to activate the Refusal Conversion Committee to revisit every household that declines vaccination. He also instructed elected representatives, deputy commissioners, and SSPs to personally ensure that drops are administered — even forcibly if necessary.

Read More: Sindh reports two new polio cases

He further cautioned officials that negligence in the campaign would not be tolerated. “Any official not showing performance will no longer be part of my team. I have already removed officers from the Health Department and district administration, and further negligence will lead to more removals,” he warned.

Shah emphasised that the upcoming October 13 campaign must be carried out in a ‘war-like’ manner, covering nomadic families in Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions who are often missed due to migration. He urged the public to cooperate fully so that “their own children and their neighbours’ children remain polio-free.”

During the September drive, 216,664 children in Sindh missed vaccination — 181,142 were not at home, while parents of 35,522 refused the drops, the meeting was told.

The CM directed Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah to prepare a plan for blocking SIMs, IDs, and passports of refusal cases and ordered all relevant officials to report progress back to him. “This is not just a government programme, it is a fight for the health and future of our children,” he concluded.