KARACHI: Provincial authorities are waiting for the nod from the security apparatus, which is already facing new challenges in the aftermath of the Dec 16 Peshawar attack, to notify a dedicated security force for polio volunteers, which has been ordered twice by Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah over the past two months, it emerged on Thursday.

Officials said the chief minister had reprimanded the provincial police officials two weeks ago for not setting up a 700-strong police force with the sole task of providing security to polio volunteers during frequent campaigns despite the announcement he had made in November.

The chief minister had asked Additional IG of Police Ghulam Qadir Thebo to notify the force and entrust it with the task of providing security to the polio workers.

However, officials said those orders were made four days before the Peshawar attack — the same day when the provincial health authorities had planned to inoculate more than 270,000 children in 11 high-risk union councils with inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) — a first in the province.

The IPV campaign could not get under way as well because of inadequate security situation and some worries within the authorities who feared that the IPV — an injectable medicine — might further increase misunderstanding among a section of the public, especially the Pakhtun community, who have already succumbed to unfounded propaganda and shown major opposition to polio drives.

“More than two weeks have passed since the national immunisation days started in Karachi but most of the city remains uncovered,” said a senior official in the provincial health department while speaking to Dawn.

He said it was yet another reason that forced them to put off the IPV campaign on Dec 16 to fully focus on the NIDs.

“But we are still lagging behind a great deal. Many areas are still not touched since police refused to provide security there,” he added.

A senior police official, however, said the entire force was on high alert after the Peshawar attack, which forced them to concentrate more on general public safety issues than anything else.

“The situation in Karachi, like elsewhere in the country, has been volatile with threats pouring in from all directions, which give us little opportunity to concentrate on polio campaigns,” he said on the condition of anonymity.

The officials in the provincial health department said they were eagerly waiting to see the 700-strong polio-only force notified, which was the only solution to keep them focussed on their goal to make the province polio-free by the end of 2015 as promised by the chief minister.

The chief minister recently asked the authorities to surround the areas where they faced resistance to ensure that polio workers administer every child with oral polio vaccine.

Reports show suspension of several previous polio drives in 11 high-risk UCs, which contributed all the 23 polio cases in the city.

Sindh contributes 29 out of close to 300 polio cases reported from across the country — the worst figures for Pakistan since 1999.

During the past six months, Pakistan had topped in the world polio cases with 85 per cent of all the polio cases reported around the world.

Afghanistan was the distant second with 23 cases and Nigeria on third with six cases.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2014