Zubair Qureshi
Leadership of different political parties at an All Parties Conference (APC) organized by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development And Transparency (PILDAT) expressed the resolve to make the country polio-free.
They also appreciated the efforts of polio eradication teams for working in risky situations and pledged their support for the complete eradication of the menace.
Senator Faisal Subzwari of MQM-Pakistan while speaking at the roundtable assured the participants of his party’s support in the parliament for passing any legislation aimed at eradicating polio.
Ex-Sen Ayesha Raza Farooq who is also Secretary Membership and Training PML-N said she (in her tenure as Senator) had presented a bill for compulsory immunization in the parliament but it lapsed and did not see the light of the day.
She said that she would be very happy to share that bill with the parties and it could be presented in the Parliament by any party as it was for the larger good of the country.
Earlier, welcoming the participants, Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT said in Covid-19 times though our main focus was vaccination against the virus yet the polio situation required urgent attention and couldn’t be overlooked.
He further said that although the polio cases in Pakistan are on a decline, efforts are needed to completely eradicate the disease.
The all parties conference will send a very strong message to the nation that in spite of the political differences the political parties can come together on the issues of national interest and a combined political will Dr. Nadeem Shah, from National Emergency Operation Center gave a detailed presentation on the polio situation in Pakistan and highlighted the high risk areas and requested the members to support the polio eradication teams. He also in his presentation stressed the need for a compulsory immunization legislation.
