Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) chief Sami-ul-Haq inaugurated the polio vaccination campaign at a famous religious seminary on Saturday by administering polio drops to his six-month-old grandson.
Sami, who also chairs the Pakistan Defence Council, has been a vocal critic of polio immunisation in the past.
The launch ceremony was attended by Nowshera District Coordination Officer (DCO) Mohammad Ayaz Mandokhel, former parliamentarian Hamid-ul-Haq Haqani, representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), government officials and a large number of teachers and students of the seminary.
While launching the campaign at Jamia Haqqania, Sami said human life was precisions and it was the responsibility of all Muslims to take care of their children’s health. He said some people had doubts about the polio vaccine, but decrees by religious scholars in favour of the vaccine had cleared those misconceptions.
He urged the people to come forward and help the country rid itself of the crippling disease. He assured of his seminary’s full cooperation in eradicating polio virus from the country. He also asked the seminary students and teachers to educate the people about the polio disease and help in its eradication. He lauded the efforts of health authorities in eliminating the deadly virus from Pakistan.
