BAJAUR: Authorities on Wednesday made the Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for the people visiting the offices of the district administration and other departments in the Bajaur tribal district.

Sources in the district administration said the decision was taken during a meeting between deputy commissioner Iftikhar Alam and district health officer Dr Faisal on Wednesday.

The sources said the health officer told the deputy commissioner that people’s interest in the vaccination was decreasing by the day despite the health department’s efforts to inoculate maximum number of people daily.

Dr Faisal said the health department had established 22 vaccination centres across the district and had enough vaccine stock at every point, but the number of visitors to the centres was dropping gradually.

He urged the deputy commissioner to declare Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for the people visiting different departments with a view to making them to get inoculated.

The deputy commissioner, the sources said endorsed the district health officer’s suggestion, and immediately issued directives to the relevant officials, asking them to deny unvaccinated people entry to the government offices.

The sources said the deputy commissioner along with district police officer Abdul Samad Khan, and the DHO visited the Nadra and passport offices to inform the officials about the decision.

GOVT ASKED TO STEP DOWN: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl’s provincial and local leaders expressed concern over the country’s volatile economic and political situation and asked the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government to step down without delay.

Speaking at a Mufti Mahmood conference in Khar the other day, the speakers, including former MPA from Mansehra Mufti Kifayatullah, Maulana Mohammad Sadiq, Maulana Shamasuzaman, Maulana Mohammad Laiq, Maulana Ziaullah Khan, Maulana Masihullah, Imran Maher and Haji Akbar Jan said sooner the PTI government stepped down the better for the country.

They JUI-F leaders claimed the PTI government had not only ruined the economy but also harmed the country’s image internationally due to its wrong policies.

The event was also attended by students of seminaries, schools and colleges and traders.

The JUI-F leaders said the government had failed to provide any relief to people during its more than three years in power.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2021