Tribesmen in Lakki Marwat have taken a new, albeit risky, route to get their demand of electricity supply met — refusing to get their children vaccinated against polio.
Several hundred residents from villages in Lakki Marwat staged a protest demonstration on June 10 and turned away polio-eradication teams, according to The Atlantic.
Village elder Zaitullah Betanai said polio teams would not be allowed to go about their work until the central government accepted the villagers’ demands.
“There is an electricity supply line but no electricity, and there is no electricity transformer in the area,” Zaitullah said. “We have no mosquito kits and no spray against mosquitoes is arranged so far. Also, there is no ambulance in the area. We want the government to address the four demands immediately.”
Lakki Marwat is a rugged district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and borders the troubled South Waziristan Agency.
Local government official Gul Zardar said the administration had engaged in talks with the protesters to find a solution.
“The political agent says he will not compromise on polio vaccination,” Zardar said.
“All their just demands will be addressed. We shall continue until their demands are addressed and ensure every child gets polio drops.”
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria are the only three countries in the world that the World Health Organisation (WHO) still regards as “polio-endemic.” Polio affects mainly children under the age of five.