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AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: Foreign insurgents fighting alongside Taliban are hampering the anti-polio drive in northeastern Badakhshan province, provincial officials said on Tuesday.
The foreign militants did not allow the vaccinators to drop polio to the children, officials added.
“20 families of the foreign insurgents had settled in the Khastak locality of Jurm district,” Public Health Director Dr. Noor Mohammad Khawari said at the launch of a three day anti-polio drive. “These militants are creating obstacles ahead of polio campaign in the province.”
“The arrival of foreign militants with their families from Pakistan has caused more polio cases besides fear of spread,” he said, adding that militants also settled in Yamgan district.
The anti-polio campaign would continue for three days to vaccinate all children across the province, Dr. Syed Farooq Nasar, a senior medical official said.
“2,000 volunteer staffers would administer polio drops to as many as 255,000 children below five in the province.”
He added that polio staffers could not be able to cover some areas of Jurm and Yamgan district due to security reason.
However, the Deputy Police Chief, Col. Sakhidad Haideri assured that police would help the polio staffers to make sure no children to miss from the polio drops.
