Security concerns hit anti-polio drive in Pakistan

Islamabad, March 20: Polio eradication drive in Pakistan, which was scheduled for Friday, has been postponed till Tuesday because of security concerns and lack of administrative preparedness, officials said.

The officials in the Sindh provincial government said the nationwide polio campaign was devised in two phases, Dawn reported.

In Karachi, the first phase started on Monday and was to end on Thursday, but the officials deferred the last day of the campaign.

They said in the first two days of the campaign in Sindh, more than 4.1 million children were vaccinated, which was 51 percent of the target of 8.1 million children.

They said the rest 49 percent of the targeted children would be vaccinated in the next phase, which has been rescheduled for Tuesday.

The Dadu and Qambar districts of the province have recorded three fresh cases this year. Another confirmed polio case was reported in Sukkur.

IANS