PESHAWAR, Sept 2: After strenuous efforts made by the provincial health authorities, the EPI staff on Tuesday successfully launched an anti-polio campaign in some localities of tehsil Landi Kotal in Khyber Agency where the people had been resisting the same over the past few years.

The health authorities were facing problems in initiating the anti-polio campaign in Landi Kotal because a local cleric, Tamache Mulla, had issued a fatwa against the administration of polio vaccine.

Tamache Mulla, a Pesh Imam (prayer leader) at the Quba mosque, near the Karigar locality, in Landi Kotal, who enjoys immense influence among his followers, held a notion that these polio drops were being administered as part of a conspiracy hatched by the US to render the Muslim youths impotent.

Because of this fatwa, the local people were reluctant to get their children vaccinated against polio.

However, NWFP Health Minister Inayatullah Khan realized the importance of the issue and visited Landi Kotal on Tuesday and held talks with Tamache Mulla, whose real name is Hazrat Nabi, and convinced him that polio drops were meant to protect the children from the crippling ailment of polio.

Mr Khan urged Tamache Mulla and his followers that Islam stressed utmost importance on cleanliness, and the people should take care of their food to be safe from diseases.

The minister said that he also held consultations with other scholars and formed teams of Ulema at district and tehsil levels to make this campaign successful.

Later, Tamache Mulla allowed the minister to administer polio drops to the children after he (the minister) assured him that he would be responsible for any mishaps caused to the children from the drops.

On the occasion, WHO’s programme officer Abraham, Unicef’s provincial chief Osama Makawi and chief of Jamaat-i-Islami Khyber Agency Zar Noor Afridi were also present.

released on bail: The political administration of Bara subdivision of Khyber Agency has released on bail a proclaimed offender involved in kidnapping, car-lifting and robberies, our correspondent from Landi Kotal adds.

The accused, Mir Wali, was also wanted in the kidnapping case of Dr Inayat Roghani, brother of ex-provincial minister Mehr Taj Roghani, and Inayat Khan, brother of Pishtakhara union nazim. He was also wanted to the Peshawar police in connection with some other crimes.

Sources in Bara disclosed that Mir Wali had received a hefty amount of Rs 3.5 million in ransom for the release of Dr Roghani.

Mir Wali had surrendered to the political administration some months back on the assurance of MNA Maulana Khalilur Rehman that he would not be handed over to the Peshawar police, the sources said.

He remained imprisoned in Jamrud jail and was recently shifted to Bara jail when his elder brother Fateh Khan abducted an eye specialist Dr Masoodul Haq in Bara on July 20.