ISLAMABAD: A religious leader from Fata here said three stakeholders were equally responsible for the failure of the anti-polio campaigns in the country.

Speaking at a press conference at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Maulana Qazi Wasiur Rehman said the anti-polio drives were being undertaken by the federal government, Unicef and the World Heal Organisation (WHO), and they should take the responsibility for the failure.

“Polio has become a menace in the country. It is not only having a serious impact on the future generation but has also led to the travel restrictions on the nation.”

He criticised the official machinery for its inefficiency and said since 1994 when the anti-polio drive was launched, the authorities concerned had been telling the nation about the success stories.

“But the reality is that even now our children are at the risk of this dangerous virus and some 90 per cent of the world’s polio cases have been reported from Pakistan.”

He said the government had also taken a loan of $227 million from the Islamic Development Bank (ADB) to continue the programme and allocated about $39 million of it to Unicef.”

Maulana Rehman said keeping in view their track record, action should be taken against these three stakeholders.

He said the Taliban had been annoyed over the fake polio drives that were a conspiracy against the country.

“It were the Ulema who persuaded the Taliban to allow the polio drives and that resulted in the reduction of the polio cases in the country,” he said.

To make the anti-polio drives a success, the authorities should eliminate the fake drives and ensure strict accountability regarding the funds.

So far, 187 cases have been detected in the country with major.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd , 2014