Islamabad: A cleric in Pakistan`s Muzaffargarh has declared the polio campaign ``un-Islamic`` and announced at the local mosque that jihad should be carried out against the visiting polio vaccination team.
According to The Express Tribune, the local polio team entered Muzaffargarh`s rural Khan Pur Bagga Sher area and asked local families to cooperate with the campaign.
When a local cleric, Maulvi Ibrahim Chisti, found out about the campaign, he immediately went to the biggest mosque in the area and declared that polio drops are ``poison`` and against Islam. He added that if the polio team forced anybody to partake in the vaccination campaign, then jihad was ``the only option``.
As a result, the polio team returned to Muzaffargarh city without carrying out immunisation and reported the matter to the Health Executive District Officer, who in turn informed the District Coordination Officer.
A police inquiry was ordered, after which a raid was carried out in the cleric`s area. However, Chisti had already escaped by the time the police arrived.
Residents said the cleric had tried to convince them that the polio campaign was a ``western conspiracy`` to render the population impotent.
After the police raid, the polio team returned to Khan Pur Bagga Sher to implement the polio immunisation campaign.
ANI
