PESHAWAR: The five-day anti polio campaign on Monday started across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa amid strict security measures to avert any untoward incident besides vaccination of each and every child under the age of five.
The vaccination drive which was started simultaneously in Malakand, Kurram, Dir, Swat, Kohat, Peshawar, Charsadda, DI Khan, Parachinar, Orakzai and merged districts as part of measures to make the province polio-free.
In district Malakand as many as 12603 security personnel were deployed for protection of the polio teams, said Sajjad Khan Regional Police Officer Malakand.
He said that peaceful conduct of the five-day anti-polio campaign was the priority of the district police, adding that during the anti-polio campaign, police pickets had been installed throughout the division and orders had also been issued to keep an eye on suspicious persons.
He further said that a total of 12603 police officers and officials were working with polio teams across the division, 3342 in Swat district, 1163 in Buner district, 1286 in Shangla district, 2263 in Lower Dir district, 2263 in Upper Dir district. 1574, 533 in Upper Chitral district, 900 in Lower Chitral district and 1542 in Bajaur district have been posted on security duty.
During the polio campaign, blockades have been set up on internal, external routes and main highways across the division to keep a watchful eye on suspicious persons.
It should be noted that Malakand Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan himself visited different areas of Swat district while reviewing the security arrangements and also administered polio drops to the children. He issued a message to the parents asking them to cooperate with the anti-polio teams and administer polio drops to their children up to 5 years of age.
Similarly, polio vaccination drive started from Deputy Commissioner offices in all the districts of the province.