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| India-Pakistan | |
| Anti-polio drive resumes in Wazoo | |
| 2014-11-25 | |
| PESHAWAR: The anti-polio campaign in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) resumed on Monday after 30 months' suspension in the wake of threats from Taliban. The campaign kicked off under the supervision of army in Wana, Azam Warsak and adjoining areas. NWA Political Agent Nawab Khan inaugurated the drive by administering polio drops to a tribal child. Under the supervision of NWA Agency Surgeon Dr Jahanzaib Wazir 102 mobile teams have been constituted to reach out the children under the age of five in the agency and vaccinate them against polio. Speaking on the occasion, Political Agent Nawab Khan said that due to an uncertain situation the FATA Secretariat could not reach out to as many as 78,000 children in NWA due to which they were vulnerable to poliovirus. He said the current anti-polio drive would yield positive results, and under it maximum number of children, under the age of five, would be vaccinated. Meanwhile, gunmen on motorbike shot injured an anti-polio worker in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda District on Monday. Police said polio worker Sajid Khan, a resident of Miranai, was going to his assigned place of duty when he was targeted by the motorcyclists. He sustained critical wounds and was shifted to hospital. The killers managed to escaped. Police cordoned off the area and started investigation. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction Jamaatul Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack. "We claim responsibility for the attack on polio workers in Shabqadr," TTP Jamaatul Ahrar spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan said. "We will soon release our policy statement on polio vaccine," Ehsan said in a statement, adding that "we will [explain] according to Islam and science how it is dangerous to health and how it is against Islam".
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| Posted by:Steve White |