Sultan Khel tribe in Khyber Agency has boycotted the polio vaccination campaign in protest of excessive load shedding the area.
At least five of polio teams had been sent back from Sultan Khel in Khyber, hospital sources said.
Sources in the administration said more than 800 children would be deprived of polio vaccination if the boycott continued.
The continuous break down of the power supply to Landikotal has prompted the tribesmen to refuse polio drops to their children in the area, arguing that if the political administration, TESCO and grid officials were bent upon depriving them of their due right of power, they would not allow anyone to carry on the polio vaccination campaign in the area.
“We had already announced boycotting polio vaccination in Khyber if the power supply suspension or the excessive load shedding and the unfair and mistreatment of the grid officials in Landikotal continues,” the people of the area said.
“We had requested the administration to spend some of the money on generators for us so that we could run our tube wells to meet the water requirements, but those voices fell on deaf ears, which led us to boycott the polio drops to out children,” Ahmad Shah Afridi said.
He said Wali Khel, Sadu Khel and Sheikhwal tribes would also boycott the polio campaign on the second day of the campaign if the power supply was not restored.
Prominent families had refused polio drops to their children in protest against the constant break down of electricity in Khyber, a Khasadar personnel said.
An official of Khasadar Force said the elders’ jirga of Sultan Khel tribe was convened, which held successful negotiations with Landikotal Tehsildar Arshad Khan. Khan convinced the elders to let their children be administered polio drops. They agreed but on the condition that the administration would take serious interest in resolving excessive load shedding problem in Khyber Sultan Khel, the official quoted the jirga as saying.
