The debate on attacks on polio vaccinators took a new turn in Senate on Thursday when a lawmaker asked the government to probe the vaccination team headed by CIA operative Dr Shakil Afridi to ascertain the facts hidden behind the recent attacks which halted anti-polio drive in Pakistan.
“Does fake polio campaign run by Shakil Afridi has links to the sudden rise in attacks on anti-polio workers as implied in foreign media reports?” questioned Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Syeda Sughra Imam.
The government should also probe attacks on polio teams from the said angle, as insurgents have long been suspecting that polio vaccinators could be potential spies, she observed while speaking on an adjournment motion condemning the killings of the anti-polio workers in Karachi and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The number of polio cases went up after the CIA used a vaccination team headed by Afridi to help trace and kill al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, she quoted the media reports as saying.
After the Afridi incident, 56 new cases were recorded particularly in volatile areas, she added.
Senate Chairman Nayyar Bokhari was yet to pass any ruling on the point raised by PPP senator on the resolution jointly moved by all parties in the upper house demanding that culprits involved in the incidents should be arrested and brought to justice. The resolution demanded that the victims of these incidents should be compensated. It said that the campaign should continue without any hindrance to completely eradicate the polio from the country and to save the lives of our children.
Taking part in the debate, Muttahida Qaumi Movement Senator Tahir Mashhadi termed attacks on polio teams a threat to the future of Pakistani children.
Senator Rafique Rajwana put religious decrees (fatwas) on the table which favour anti-polio drive saying, “Those who want to halt the war against polio have no religion.”
Pakistan is among the three countries including Somalia and Afghanistan where the polio virus is present, said Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo. “If by the end of the next year we fail to make our country polio-free we will have to face international travel embargoes,” he said.
Concluding the debate on the adjournment motion moved by Senator Hamza regarding attacks on the polio workers, Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani said that such cowardly acts cannot deter our resolve to achieve our goals. “All possible efforts will be made to make the country polio-free by the end of the next year.”
Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012 challenged
Chairman Senate also asked Leader of the House to call finance minister to explain the issues related to Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012. Senator Raza Rabbani pointed out that there is a violation of constitution regarding tabling of this bill. The bill was tabled late as per article 73 of the constitution, he said.
Article 73 of the constitution states that when a Money Bill, including the Finance Bill containing the Annual Budget Statement, is presented in the National Assembly, a copy thereof shall be transmitted to the Senate which may, within fourteen days, make recommendations thereon to the National Assembly.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 21st, 2012.
COMMENTS (3)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Conspiracy has resulted the birth of Pakistan . Conspiracy virus from pakistan is still infecting Kashmiri people . Now again a conspiracy, nothing new in it .
This article has nothing to do with the Urdu press.^ Please read before commenting.
Pakistan needs better governance, and badly.
Pakistani urdu media is perhaps the worst in the world. probably worse than the Hindi news media which I alwys thought was the worst in the world.
You report diluted Phenyl as acid.
Hepatitis vaccine as Polio vaccine.
And you have the results are in front of you.