KP MPAs Urge Parents To Ignore Rumours, Get Children Administered Anti-polio Vaccine

The members of the provincial assembly (MPAs) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on both sides of isle on Monday had the consensus that the rumour of polio vaccine reaction was an attempt to sabotage the drive against the crippling disease

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Apr, 2019 ) :The members of the provincial assembly (MPAs) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on both sides of isle on Monday had the consensus that the rumour of polio vaccine reaction was an attempt to sabotage the drive against the crippling disease.

The MPAs led by Speaker Mushtaq Ghani, who was chairing the assembly session, urged the parents not to pay attention to the rumours and get administered polio drops to their children without any fear and concern.

Minister for Local Government Shahram Khan Tarakai informed the House that investigation was underway into the incident of alleged polio vaccine reaction in the provincial capital. The elements behind spreading rumours against polio vaccination would be taken to task, he added.

Responding to points of order of Pakistan Peoples Party's Nighat Orakzai and other opposition members, he said the polio disease was a serious matter, which was now only prevalent in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

He said the government was taking pragmatic initiatives to control the polio disease in the country, but unfortunately some anti-state elements were trying to sabotage its efforts.

He said the government was determined to eliminate polio from Pakistan as "otherwise, we will not be able travel across the world." He said on Monday some elements tried to spread propaganda against the polio vaccine without any basis as no child was found affected due to the vaccine's reaction.

Earlier, Nighat Orakzai on a point of order drew attention of the House towards agitation in Peshawar over reported reaction of polio vaccine in two schools in the outskirts of provincial capital. Following rumours thousands of children were brought to hospitals in Peshawar and other areas of the province, she claimed.

She urged the government to take serious notice of the issue and expose the elements behind the conspiracy. She also condemned the killing of 14 security personnel in Omara a few days ago by the miscreants.

Khushdil Khan Advocate of the Awami National Party (ANP) said a serious propaganda was started among the masses in his constituency PK-70 Peshawar. There was no reality in the incident of vaccine reaction and no child was found ill due to polio vaccination, he added.

He said a committee had been constituted to probe the incident of polio vaccine reaction and suggested that the respective MPAs and other notables of PK-70 and PK-71 should be included in the committee.

Inayatullah Khan of Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) said since the matter was of international level so a parallel committee be constituted.

He said several parents had refused to administer polio vaccine to their children in the past and the recent propaganda could possibly aggravate the situation. The government and all the parliamentarians should play role to counter propaganda against anti-polio vaccination drives.

Salahudin Khan of the ANP said he personally visited a hospital in his constituency PK-71 where local people had brought children in the wake of rumors of polio vaccine reaction.

ANP's Parliamentary Leader Sardar Hussain Babak deplored that in the past announcements were made from mosques against polio vaccine and several polio workers were killed. He called for proper training for teachers involved in the vaccination campaign to achieve the required results.

Sardar Aurangzaib Nalota of Pakistan Muslim League-N said it was responsibility of every individual to play role in elimination of the crippling polio disease. He demanded proper inquiry into the incident of alleged polio vaccine reaction.

Later, Speaker Mushtaq Ghani noted that some anti-state elements had spread rumors against polio vaccine and urged the parents to administer polio vaccine to their children and protect them from threat of permanent disability due to polio virus.