A deadly virus

The murder of five anti-polio workers, four in Karachi and one near Peshawar, is harrowing and a cause for national shame. There cannot be any justification for the brutal act of violence against innocent anti-polio workers, who were performing their duty to earn their livelihood and, in the process, helping protect our future generations from a lethal disease. Despite opposition from certain quarters – on the basis of the ‘fertility impact’ of the anti-polio vaccine – the campaign for eradication of the disease was in full swing and there had been significant progress. In fact, at one point, our rulers had even claimed that the menace had been eradicated and the children of Pakistan were safe. That the claim was busted by the emergence of polio cases in different parts of the country is another story. However, nobody was killed as part of the opposition to the anti-polio drive until Osama bin Laden’s capture from Abbottabad.

The premier intelligence agency of the US had apparently used medical and paramedical staff to carry out a mock vaccination campaign to reach OBL’s den, obviously not thinking of the consequences of such a foolish act. Innocent vaccination workers, NGO employees and development professionals have since been under strict scrutiny. Similarly, the people working for development organisations are increasingly regarded as agents of this or that intelligence agency. They are accused of going to villages and shanty towns and meeting with the local community to collect information ‘to get dollars’. The entire NGO sector is being viewed as part of some macabre global plot against the country and the ummah. The state of Pakistan needs to ensure the safety of workers and come up with a strategy, in consultation with national and international organisations, to counter misinformation about the intentions of NGO workers and to save their lives and honour. At the same time, the NGOs need to concentrate on what is expected of them, instead of becoming proxies for espionage agencies.

Noor Muhammad

Islamabad

Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-11-149424-A-deadly-virus