LOWER DIR - More than 100 prayer leaders and religious clerics affiliated with different sects Tuesday announced to observe March 23 as ‘Yaum-e-Dua’ against the crippling polio disease, saying that they could fully support the government in its anti-polio efforts.
The announcement was made during a seminar on ‘Polio Campaign and Ulema Role in Vaccination’ held at the district council hall, Balambat, which was arranged by the National Research & Development Foundation (NRDF) in collaboration with the UNICEF.
Ulema from all tehsils of the district, seminary students and notables of the area attended the seminar.
DCO Dir Lower Mahmood Aslam Wazir, MPA Dr Zakirullah Khan, EDO health Dr Shaukat Ali, NRDF provincial core group member Muhammad rahim Haqqani, Qazi Fazlullah, Maulana Zahid Khan, National Professional Officer of the WHO Dr Mehboob and other clerics spoke on the occasion.
They said that Pakistan had not been successful so far to get rid of polio because of its virus presence in the region. They said that ulema and religious scholars could play active role in public awareness about the harms of this disease. They said that negative propaganda against polio drops was now story of the past and ulema were supporting the government in eradicating the menace from the region.
The speakers suggested that civil society and media should also play their role in helping government and the health department to make Pakistan a polio free by the end of 2012. An announcement was made on the occasion that pray day would be observed in Dir Lower on March, 23 while special announcements would be made from mosques to aware the people about polio drive and importance of vaccination.