RAWALPINDI, Nov 3: The federal government has solved a dispute between Punjab government and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) over owning of a polio case and declared that the victim contracted the virus from Peshawar Valley.

The detection of polio virus in 36-month-old Sanaullah, a resident of Bajaur, on September 6 created a tussle between Punjab government and Fata administration as both passed the buck on each other.

Punjab Health Department was of the view that the child contracted the virus from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as, according to the father of the child, the family went to Bajaur Agency before the start of anti-polio campaign in July.

On the other hand, Fata administration claimed that the child carried the polio virus from Rawalpindi where he spent two years after his birth.

Stepping in to solve the matter, Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Polio Shahnaz Wazir Ali constituted a four-member committee comprising Dr Mubashir Malik and Dr Musarrat Abdullah from Punjab and Dr Tahir Naeem and Dr Mohammad Javed from Fata.

The committee presented its report to Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring and Coordination Cell and recommended to include the polio case in the Bajaur Agency list.

Upon this, Dr Altaf Bosan, the national coordinator for polio, on Friday issued a letter to Fata administration and informed it about the decision.

The letter said: “On the basis of insensitive clinical and laboratory investigation, public health experts come to the conclusion that the case actually pertains to Bajaur Agency as genetic sequencing of the polio virus shows that it is found in Peshawar Valley.”

Expressing concern over the low quality of supplementary immunisation activities which created the emergence of polio virus, the special assistant to the prime minister has directed that the polio case in question should be entered into the list of Bajaur Agency.

When contacted, Executive District Officer Health Dr Zafar Iqbal Gondal said that the provincial health department received the letter and it proved its claim.