471 arrested for refusing anti-polio drops to children

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has undertaken a campaign against the parents who have refused administration of anti-polio vaccines drops to their kids and arrested 471 in Peshawar alone on Monday, an official said.
This is for the first time that such arrests are being made to stem the rise in the polio refusal cases in Pakistan.An official said a list of chronic refusal cases has been prepared and warrants for arrest of over 1,000 have been issued.
“Out of the list over 471 have been arrested while action is underway against the others,” said a police official.The arrests were made by the police in the rural and suburban villages in the limits of Matani, Khazana and Sarband police stations. It was done on the directives of the deputy commissioner of Peshawar.
“There are over 14,000 refusal cases in Peshawar alone. We have decided to take it a challenge and make sure that every child gets vaccinated,” Deputy Commissioner Peshawar Riaz Khan Mahsud told The News.
He said the arrests were being made to ensure 100 percent vaccination.The district administration of Peshawar had issued more than 1,000 warrants for arrest of parents who had refused to get their children vaccinated against the crippling disease. The arrests are being made all over Peshawar under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order.
An official said those arrested during the drive would be released only after receiving two guarantees and assurance that they would let their children vaccinated against polio.The federal and provincial governments recently joined hands against polio by launching the “Sehat Ka Ittehad” programme in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This province along with Fata recorded the highest number of over 300 polio cases reported in the country last year.
The respective district administration has been imposing ban on motorbike riding on the day when the vaccination campaign is carried out in any district. Extraordinary security arrangements are made for the protection of the polio vaccination teams after a number of attacks on vaccinators and the cops guarding them in recent years.