In 2019, 7.666 children became victims of polio every month until the end of September. The surfacing of three new cases has taken the tally to 72. If the numbers grow with an average of 7.66, the total cases of polio victims will cross the figure of 90 by the end of the year. While the crippling disease is persistent, the government’s silence is consistent.

The editorials in this paper have time and again mentioned the sad fact that Pakistan is one of the three countries in the world where cases of polio emerge. The state of Pakistan has done a tremendous job in reducing polio cases all these years. However, the high tally of 72 polio cases cast doubts on the government’s resolution to make Pakistan polio-free anytime soon. The surveillance system indicates the cursed virus continues to circulate in Pakistan and remains a threat to children of the country.

Furthermore, it seems that the country’s polio eradication program is failing to secure the core reservoirs of Karachi, Khyber-Peshawar and Quetta block from the poliovirus. The emergence of the latest two cases from Karachi and Quetta blocks shows that the program has yet to cover a long distance in making Pakistan free from polio. The tally shows that the resurgence of the virus has reversed all the gains made all these years, as this year’s figure is the highest in the last five years.

The government needs to rethink its strategy against polio disease. There are issues within the polio eradication program that seriously undermine its work and efforts against the crippling disease. The strategy devised under the National Emergency Action Plan for Polio Eradication (NEAP) is proving ineffective. The number of polio cases in 2019 has exposed all the tall claims of the government made in 2018-19 report against the eradication of polio disease. It is yet to be seen if the 72nd polio case can awake the government from its slumber.