December 02, 2006	Saturday	Ziqa'ad 10, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 1: Pakistan has asked Middle East and Gulf states to develop protocols for the deportation of HIV/Aids positive Pakistani expatriates.

"We want them (Middle Eastern and Gulf countries) to at least inform us that they were sending back home someone infected with HIV/Aids so that they could be isolated and treated," federal Health Secretary Anwar Mehmood told Dawn on Friday.

Pakistani expatriates and Afghan refugees are one of the main tributaries of the HIV/Aids virus. A significant number of Pakistanis work abroad, especially in the Middle East and Gulf, and many serve in international armed forces. These groups are especially vulnerable to HIV, and pose a great threat when they return home, putting their spouses, sexual partners and contacts at a greater risk.

Currently, countries in the Middle East and Gulf deport anyone who is tested positive for HIV/Aids, but do not specify the cause of deportation.

Answering a question, the secretary said it was “too early to say how successful we have been in convincing Middle Eastern countries” as the issue was taken up recently.

National Aids Control Programme (NACP) Program Manager Dr Asma Bokhari said presently most of the transmission of virus was local, whereas previously infected Pakistani expatriates played a major role in the spread of the deadly disease by acting as a conduit for further transmission to the general population. According to official figures, currently there were 3,591 registered cases, including 3,224 HIV positive and 367 full blown Aids cases, but, it is feared that the actual number may be 30 times high.

The NACP said that the stage was set for an explosion of the epidemic in the country.

Infection Control Society of Pakistan president Dr Rafiq Khanani rejected the government’s move for seeking the identity of deported HIV/Aids positive people as a gross violation of human rights.

However, he said, most of the infected women and children in the country contracted the disease from the infected spouses and fathers returning from Middle East and Gulf.

Meanwhile, on the occasion of World Aids Day, UNAIDS Pakistan and its United Nations co-sponsor agencies launched the Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS.

The objective of the association is to build capacity and empower people living with HIV in Pakistan. Stigma and discrimination remain burning issues for PLHIV, which needs to be tackled on a priority basis.

Couple of dozens of people living with HIV, including children and office-bearers of the newly formed association, were present on the occasion and the membership drive was launched.

Association’s president Nazir Masih said things had improved for HIV patients because of advocacy and improved awareness.