Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today made it mandatory for the people of seven northwestern tribal districts to be immunised against the polio virus before they enter heavily populated areas of the country.
Sharif was briefed by National Coordinator for Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq about efforts made by the federal government to eradicate polio.
"The Prime Minister decided to involve the army to ensure security on all Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) border points to regulate ingress of people from FATA into settled areas only after polio vaccine has been administered," according to a statement from the Prime Minister's House.
The National Coordinator was directed to meet governor of northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders the tribal region, to ensure better access and coverage of polio workers to the masses.
The prime minister has also decided to discuss the issue of polio in the cabinet meeting later today and to convene the meeting of National Task Force on Polio as soon as possible.
Pakistan faced international humiliation when the World Health Organisation (WHO) imposed travel restrictions on the country on May 5 for failure to curb the polio virus.
Already it has been decided that every Pakistani will have to produce a certificate showing polio vaccination for any foreign travel from June 1.
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only countries in the world where polio remains endemic.
