KHYBER AGENCY: In the wake of threat to the polio workers from the terrorists and their refusal to carry out the polio drive, the political administration of Khyber tribal region has decided to deploy Khasadar Force personnel to conduct the vaccination campaign.
The region has registered two more polio case in December increasing the number of cases to 19 during 2013, the highest in any district of Pakistan.
The Assistant Political Agent Jamrud, Jehangir Azam Wazir told Dawn.Com that the political administration had a backup plan in place, in case the polio vaccinators showed their inability to carry out the drive.
He added that according to the plan “about 60 tribal Khasadar force personnel have been trained to vaccinate the children next month when the drive kicks off.”
The anti-campaign begins in the first week of January.
After threats and the killing of a number of polio workers, the most recent incident to have occurred a few days back, the polio vaccinators in the Khyber tribal region had refused to carry out the drive, citing threats from the militants and demanded fool proof security arrangements.
The Khyber tribal region has the highest number of polio cases this year as most of the children remain unattended in the wake of poor law and order and denial from the parents besides other reasons.
The polio vaccinators would be provided all out security and they would be welcomed if they showed the will to join hands with the Khasadar force, to carry out the drive, the APA said.
On December 24 about four hundred volunteers and vaccinators in Khyber Agency had refused to carry out polio vaccination whereas some have even submitted notices to the administration showing their inability to continue with drive.
Pakistani Taliban in 2012 had ordered to ban polio vaccinations in the tribal area, alleging that the campaign was a cover-up for espionage operations.
Moreover, rumors, lack of awareness among the parents and religious intolerance has also hampered the vaccination drive in the rural areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata thus causing an increase of polio cases by more than 40 per cent from 58 last year to 74 during 2013 so far.
Pakistan is one of three countries besides Nigeria and Afghanistan where battle on polio has not been won.