ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has expressed his concern over the emergence of the first polio case in Pakistan after 15 months.

A 15-year-old boy was found paralysed by the wild poliovirus in North Waziristan on Friday.

In a statement issued from Bilawal House’s media cell, the PPP chairman called for ascertaining the reason behind this tragic emergence of the polio case and said the entire anti-polio drive policy should be revisited and revamped.

“Spirit and contribution, efforts and sacrifices of polio workers towards the eradication of the menace of poliomyelitis will not be wasted,” he said, adding that every Pakistani had to play a positive role in this regard.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari said Benazir Bhutto had dreamed of a polio-free Pakistan. “This dream of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto would very soon become a reality,” he added.

Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been identified by the polio programme as the area most at risk after wild poliovirus was detected in environmental samples in the last quarter of 2021. Positive environmental samples of wild poliovirus had been found in D.I. Khan and Bannu divisions.

“This validates the programme’s concerns about the virus circulation in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and strengthens our resolve to reach every child with the polio vaccine,” said National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) Coordinator Dr Shahzad Baig.

To address the challenges in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the government and global polio partners had already initiated an emergency action plan, he added.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2022