Passports, ID cards issuance in South Waziristan Agency tied to polio vaccination
WANA: The authorities in South Waziristan Agency on Tuesday linked the issuance of the computerized national identity cards, passports and domicile certificates to the immunisation of children against polio.
Talking to reporters, South Waziristan’s Political Agent Shahidullah Khan said the parents who were unwilling to get their kids immunised against the crippling disease would not be issued the civil documents. “A certificate will be issued to the parents of those children who have been administered the anti-polio drops,” he maintained.
He said three-day anti-polio drive would start in South Waziristan on January 14 to administer the oral vaccine to the children. “We have taken a number of steps to make the immunisation campaign successful,” the official said.
Meanwhile, some elders said that linking the issuance of such important documents to the polio immunisation campaign would help make the drive successful. “A large number of tribesmen hailing from South Waziristan seek jobs in the Gulf countries and need identity cards and passports. Now they will make it sure to get their kids immunised in order to obtain these documents,” an elder said.