ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Thursday launched a polio vaccination campaign in the restive North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan, where Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants have sanctuaries.
The campaign, targeting 39,000 children, was initiated under huge international pressure to vaccinate every child in the country, despite more than two years of a dangerous security situation in the region.
The military has been carrying out an offensive against militant strongholds in the area since June.
"The campaign has been started in the region where military is not fighting against the militants.
There is no timeframe for this campaign and it will continue until we vaccinate all 39,000 children," Dr Sadiq Khan, in charge of the health department in North Waziristan, told AFP.
Adnan Khan, a government spokesman, told AFP that the authorities had not set a timeframe for the campaign due to the security situation.
On Tuesday, a similar campaign was started in the neighbouring South Waziristan tribal district along the Afghan border.
A day later, gunmen killed four members of a polio vaccination team in the outskirts of Quetta city.