LAHORE  - The law enforcing agencies are advised to observe a state of high-alert across the country during two-day anti-polio campaign throughout the year to ensure polio free Pakistan.
Sources said that the National Crisis Management Cell directed the provincial authorities to step up security for workers and surveillance around the vaccination points.
Despite killings of polio workers in targeted attacks since January, the campaign also called ‘Let us Make Pakistan a Polio-free Country’ has picked up momentum with a little resistance from hardliners in the insurgency hit regions, officials say. The Interior Ministry has directed the provinces to nick anti-polio team attackers.
The law enforcing agencies are also asked to engage all the communities for the cause by extending cooperation with religious leaders and schoolteachers.
A comprehensive security strategy had already been put into practice in Punjab, where no gun attack or assault on the polio staff had been reported yet.
Sources in the Central Police Office said that inspector general of police Khan Baig had directed all the field officers and personnel deployed at the check posts to ensure foolproof security for the polio teams in their respective areas. The district police and administration are also asked to keep constant liaison with the polio teams.
An official of the Interior Ministry revealed that there were no specific threats to the polio teams working in Sindh, Khyber PK, and Balochistan but the anti-Pakistan militants would never be allowed to demoralize the vaccination staff.
Instead of waiting for other countries to impose restrictions on Pakistani national visiting abroad to produce polio certification, Pakistan must make rules that polio vaccination is a pre-requisite to proceed abroad without which no body can go abroad.
Certain countries like India, (declared Polio free by WHO), have imposed travel restrictions on Pakistanis visiting India demanding polio certification and carrying the documents for the entire duration of stay in India. Other countries may also like to impose the similar restrictions on Pakistan.
Hence, the authorities concerned must accord top priority to eliminate polio virus from Pakistan and provide a safe environment to the people of Pakistan, according to officials.
The police and other law enforcing agencies in collaboration with the federal government had prepared a similar strategy to foil the nefarious designs of anti-state elements. The provincial authorities however, are allowed to adjust the security plan when and where is required.
All Pakistanis have a collective responsibility to support anti polio campaign and facilitate administration of polio vaccine to the children. The militants and hardliners should also be educated through awareness campaign that polio is to be fought against to make the future life safe in Pakistan. “Pakistan belongs to our future generation and we cannot cripple them for nothing,” said a Lahore-based religious leader. He also suggested that religious scholars should issue Fatwa that administration of polio drops is very much in line with Islamic teachings and in this regard Taliban propaganda is totally baseless.
“Taliban need to use their scruples to understand the urgency of administrating polio vaccine. The state must pass legislation that without polio certification no admissions in school, registration with NADRA, obtaining educational certificates, and passports will be allowed,” he insisted.
Polio is a deadly virus with its crippling effects. Discovery of anti polio vaccine has made it possible to eliminate the virus and make the environment free of polio infection.
Unfortunately, WHO in its recent report declared Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria as polio-endemic countries where the virus is spreading speedily.
Therefore it is the primary duty of every individual, community, social worker, political party and government to make incessant efforts to eliminate polio and make Pakistan free of this deadly virus. Regrettably, militants in Pakistan pose a grave threat to polio administering teams as they attack and kill the staff. This is nothing but a classical example of self-immolation and self-destruction.