ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched an anti-polio campaign to administer the vaccine to more than 10 million children under five years of age, excerpts from a statement released on Monday read.
“Thousands of frontline workers will go from door to door to ensure more than 10.25 million children receive the two drops of the vaccine which will protect them against the poliovirus,” the statement by the National Emergency Operations Center Against Polio said, adding that despite significant achievements, the virus “finds way for its survival.”
“Therefore, a special immunization campaign (has been) planned in all the core reservoirs to kill the wild polio virus forever,” the statement added.
Pakistan is one of the three countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, where the polio virus remains endemic.
Despite concentrated efforts, Pakistan has not been able to eradicate the disease, with “23 cases of wild poliovirus reported in the country.”
On Monday, Babar bin Atta, the Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio requested parents to “avoid fake propaganda against the polio vaccine and vaccinate their children.”
In April this year, a misinformation campaign launched in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province triggered panic in the area, with mobs burning a village health center, blocking a highway and indulging in vandalism.
Pakistan launches anti-polio drive, aims to reach more than 10m children
Pakistan launches anti-polio drive, aims to reach more than 10m children
- Thousands of workers will be involved in administering the vaccine
- 23 cases have been reported in the country this year
Pakistan’s top military commander hails Saudi defense pact as ‘historic’ at scholars’ conference
- Asim Munir says Pakistan has a unique bond with the Kingdom, citing the ‘honor’ of helping safeguard the holy sites
- He says only the state can declare jihad, urging religious scholars to counter extremist narratives and promote unity
ISLAMABAD: Chief of Defense Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Wednesday described the country’s joint security pact with Saudi Arabia as a “historic” milestone, telling a gathering of religious scholars that Pakistan and the kingdom share a deep strategic relationship.
Signed in September, the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement has solidified decades of Saudi–Pakistan defense cooperation, covering intelligence-sharing, counterterrorism and regional stability.
The two nations have long coordinated on defense matters, with Pakistani military personnel deployed in the Kingdom.
“The defense agreement [with Saudi Arabia] is historic,” he said in an address to the conference in the federal capital.
The top military commander said Pakistan regarded its connection with the Kingdom as unique.
“Among all Muslim countries, Allah has given Pakistan the honor of helping safeguard the Haramain,” he continued, referring to the two holiest sites of Islam in Makkah and Madinah.
Munir used his speech to warn against extremism, saying that under the Islamic framework, only the state could declare jihad, a pointed reference to groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which claims to act in the name of religion while carrying out attacks on civilians and security forces.
“When nations abandon knowledge and the pen, disorder takes hold,” he said, urging the religious scholars to help keep society unified and to “broaden the nation’s vision.”
Munir also criticized India, describing “terrorism” as “India’s habit, not Pakistan’s.”
His remarks came months after a four-day military confrontation in May, during which the two nuclear-armed neighbors exchanged artillery and missile fire and deployed drones and fighter jets.
India blamed Pakistan for a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir before launching a missile attack. Islamabad denied involvement and called for an international probe.
Pakistan claimed it had shot down six Indian fighter jets before a US-brokered ceasefire took effect.
“We do not hide when confronting the enemy,” Munir said. “We challenge openly.”
