QUETTA: Polio workers in Balochistan were not paid their due salaries after the conclusion of the recent anti-polio campaign in September.

Despite directives issued by Balochistan's Chief Secretary Saifullah Chattah, the polio workers are still waiting to receive their salaries in the province.

“Polio workers are supposed to be paid their salaries right after the anti-polio campaign ends,” said a lady health worker from Quetta.

An official of the the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) Balochistan confirmed that the polio workers are yet to be paid but declined to comment further on the situation.

“The districts will soon submit details and DDM cards so that the process can be started,” said the EOC official.

The next anti-polio drive will start in Quetta from October 10, while 10 other districts will start conducting the anti-polio campaign from October 13.

Balochistan Chief Minister Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch said earlier this week that his government is making utmost efforts to make Balochistan a polio-free province by giving special focus to the areas where challenges are serious in carrying out successful anti-polio campaigns.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world which have not been able to eradicate the polio-virus while no case of polio virus was reported in Nigeria over a year.

Refusal on the part of some parents and attacks at polio workers and volunteers remain the main reasons behind failure to eliminate the virus. Polio campaigns are usually postponed and suspended owing to security reasons in Quetta.

The government had declared a polio emergency throughout the province to root out the crippling virus from the region