Lawmakers seek punishment to those behind polio hoax

PESHAWAR: The panic that gripped the provincial capital after scores of children fainted at a school due to the alleged reaction of polio vaccine echoed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday.

Most of the lawmakers termed it as a conspiracy against the Polio Eradication Initiative and asked for exemplary punishment to those who had triggered the rumours.

In response to a heated debate about the anti-polio campaign, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Local Bodies and Rural Development Shahram Khan Tarakai said that an inquiry committee had been ordered to present a report to the provincial government. He said whosoever was found involved in this act would not be spared.

Pakistan People’s Party’s Nighat Yasmin Orakzai on a point of order said that hundreds of children in Peshawar and other parts of the province were rushed to hospitals on Monday after misinformation was spread on social media against the polio drops.

“The government should properly investigate this matter,” she demanded.

Awami National Party’s Khushdil Khan and Salahuddin Khan said that the panic originated from their constituencies and within hours all the hospitals in Peshawar were flooded with children and their worried parents.

“There might be many reasons for suffering and vomiting of the children who were administered the polio drops,” Khushdil Khan opined.