UPPER DIR, Feb 27: Ulema have called upon the parents to let their children be administered anti-polio vaccine to save them from the crippling disease.

Polio cannot be eradicated from the country unless every child is vaccinated against the deadly virus and it is obligatory on Muslims under Sunnat-i-Rasool that they allow their child to get polio drops, said a speaker while addressing a seminar titled “the role of ulema in anti-polio campaign,” organised by the National Research Development Foundation (NRDF) here on Sunday.

In the past parents refused anti-polio drops to their children under misconception that the drops were not allowed in Islam, the speakers pointed out.

The NRDF's provincial ulema core committee's members Mohammad Rahim Haqqani, Maulana Ziaullah Sadiqi, Dr Nazar Mohammad, Maulana Gul Noor Shah, Pir Sher Alam, Mufti Ismail and others spoke on the occasion.

They said those children who were not vaccinated against the disease remained vulnerable to the virus.

They also called upon religious scholars to persuade people to protect their children against this disease. Some speakers said the polio drops were being prepared in Indonesia, a Muslim country, and therefore, they contained no un-Islamic substance.

“The drops have been declared in line with Islam in Saudi Arab, Kuwait, Indonesia, Syria and other Islamic countries,” the speakers said, adding, people's ignorance and misconception about the vaccine could make the coming generation crippled.

A religious scholar said the nation was facing daunting challenges including terrorism, lack of progress in education and price hike and needed to produce competent and healthy people to tackle them.

“If we have to make our children doctors, engineers and other professionals, we have to make sure that they are protected against every illness, particularly polio,” he added.

He said people should set aside all suspicions about polio drops and ensure vaccination to children to make the drive successful and help the government eradicate this crippling disease.

It has been learnt that more than 60 cases of polio have been registered in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, three of them in Upper Dir.