Polio workers are under constant threat in Pakistan.
Islamists oppose the regional polio vaccination campaign. They accuse health workers of acting as spies for the U.S. and claim the polio vaccine is intended to make Muslim children sterile.
This week Pakistani lawmaker Maulana Jamaluddin blamed US drones for the spread of polio in Pakistan.
The Tribune reported, via Blazing Cat Fur:
With travel restrictions imposed on Pakistan for its inability to control the spread of polio virus, parliamentarians on Tuesday passed a unanimous resolution, vowing to make Pakistan polio-free, Express News reported.
Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar informed the house that no new case has been detected in Punjab and Balochistan while there has been an increase in the number of instances in Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
A few lawmakers also locked horns over how to tackle the epidemic during the session.
During a debate on the issue in the National Assembly, Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islami Fazl (JUI-F) lawmaker Maulana Jamaluddin blamed the US drone campaign for the presence of polio in the country. He called on the government to divert its attention and resources to investigate the link between polio and the unmanned aircraft that hover over the tribal belt of Pakistan.
“They [US] kill us through drones and also spread polio,” Jamaluddin said. He, however, himself did not give any substantial proof to back his claims.