PTI supporters refuse to boycott polio vaccination

MANSEHRA: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Lower Kohistan chapter, has announced to only support the lawful demands of a joint committee of three Kohistan districts for electricity supply to locals on the subsidised tariffs but refused to back the boycott of the polio vaccination and the poppy cultivation.

“The Wapda should honour its commitments made with the local people to avoid an agitation by the joint committee, which is going to boycott the polio vaccination to their children,” Abdul Hakeem, the PTI senior vice-president for Lower Kohistan, told a press conference in Pattan on Monday.

Flanked by other office-bearers of his party, he said that a 30-member committee having the representation of 10 members each from Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan and Kolai-Palas, wants the implementation of an agreement reached between Wapda and locals for the supply of the electricity from Dubair Khawar Hydropower Project on the subsidised tariffs but it was yet to honour its commitments.

“As the Wapda is yet to honour this and other agreements and joint committee is on an agitation, we would neither boycott the polio vaccination to our children and would never cultivate the poppy and even approach people against it,” he said.

He said that his party was against such an agitation, which could put their offspring health in a danger.“We are also going to launch an awareness campaign about the lethal consequence of refusing the polio drops to our children and cultivation of the poppy crops in three Kohistan districts,” he added.