Tribesmen from various areas of Bajaur and Mohmand districts announced on Monday their boycott of the ongoing anti-polio campaign, protesting delays in the completion of road projects in their localities.
In Bajaur, residents of Enzari, Khar tehsil, halted the vaccination drive over the incomplete Lowi Sam-Anbar road. They blocked the road temporarily, claiming construction had been suspended for two years, despite being initiated three years ago. Repeated complaints to officials and lawmakers have gone unanswered. According to sources from the district administration and health department, some locals refused to allow polio teams to administer vaccines to their children. Efforts are underway to negotiate an end to the boycott.
Similarly, residents of Nazar Mena in the hilly Barang tehsil also protested the stalled Warsak-Nazar Mena road project, which was halted in June 2022 after starting in November 2021.
In Mohmand district, tribesmen from four villages in Halimzai tehsil announced their boycott due to delays in constructing the Khapakh border highway, which has been pending for six years. Despite repeated assurances from the district administration, work remains halted. A committee of elders from Sultankhel, Barokhel, Surdag, and Prata villages decided to continue the boycott until work resumes.
In Ambar tehsil, locals are boycotting the polio campaign to demand the construction of the Ambar-Ekkaghund road. Assistant Commissioner Usman Hamza stated that talks are in progress to resolve the issue.
In Kohat, residents of Boraka, who boycotted the campaign over the non-reconstruction of a demolished primary school, agreed to conditionally allow the resumption of the drive after a meeting with Deputy Commissioner Abdul Kalam. The school, demolished five years ago, left students studying in the open. The locals ended their boycott after the approval of two classrooms and a boundary wall, provided construction begins promptly.
Efforts continue in all regions to resolve the boycotts and resume the critical polio vaccination campaigns.
