SWABI: Former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser has said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf will soon launch the mass contact campaign when it receives a green signal from party chairman Imran Khan.

In a video message released on Sunday night, he told the people of his district that he couldn’t get in touch with them for a long time due to different reasons. He said the loss of contact was because of the government’s continued harsh policy against PTI leaders and Imran Khan’s advice to them to act according to the situation.

He said they were not afraid of the situation, and when the PTI leadership got Imran Khan’s green signal it would launch the mass contact campaign.

He rubbished the reports that the upcoming general elections would be contested minus Imran Khan, saying the jailed leader had massive public support.

“We want the supremacy of the Constitution. We will contest the elections with full vigour,” he said, adding they would adopt policies that would bring prosperity and peace to the country.

Mr Qaiser said the party would take forward the development projects initiated by it in Swabi. “We will make development plans keeping in mind the aspirations of people.”

STUDENTS ADVISED: Managements of both public and private schools and colleges have advised the students suffering from conjunctivitis (eye disease) to stay at home till full recovery to help curb any outbreak of the contagion in the district.

Sources said college principals and headmasters/headmistress of schools had advised the students to take precautionary measures.

When contacted, a college principal on condition of anonymity told Dawn that the policy was adopted on the directives of the district education officer as a precautionary measure to shield students against the infection.

Meanwhile, doctors in the Bacha Khan Hospital Complex said the number of outdoor patients suffering from eye diseases had increased during the last few days.

POLIO CAMPAIGN: A five-day anti-polio campaign began here on Monday.

A total of 302,664 children will be vaccinated against polio in the campaign, for which the district health department has formed 1,093 teams under the supervision of 261 area in-charges.

When contacted, DSP headquarters Jawad Khan told Dawn that pillion-riding had been banned for five days across the district. He said a total of 1,597 police personnel had been deputed to provide security to the vaccinators.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2023