<p> A cleric in Pakistan's Punjab province has warned that a jihad would be launched against polio vaccination teams at a time when the World Health Organisation has expressed concern at the emergence of new cases of the disease across the country.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Maulvi Ibrahim Chisti of Muzaffargarh district declared the anti-polio campaign as "un-Islamic" and announced at the local mosque that jihad (holy war) should be carried out against the polio vaccination team.<br /><br />Chisti made the remarks after finding out that a vaccination team had entered Khan Pur Bagga Sher area of Muzaffargarh and asked families to cooperate with the campaign.</p>.<p>The cleric went to the largest mosque in the area and declared that polio drops were "poison" and against Islam, The Express Tribune reported.</p>.<p>He warned that if the vaccination team forced anyone to participate in the campaign, then jihad was "the only option".<br /><br />As a result, the polio team returned to Muzaffargarh city without carrying out any immunisation and reported the matter to senior officials.<br /><br />A police inquiry was ordered and a raid was conducted in the cleric's area.<br />However, Chisti escaped by the time the police arrived.<br /><br />Residents said the cleric had tried to convince them that the polio campaign was a "Western conspiracy" to render the population impotent.</p>.<p>After the police raid, the vaccination team returned to the area to implement the immunisation campaign.<br /><br />The WHO recently expressed concern over a spike in polio cases across Pakistan, particularly the country's restive northwestern tribal region, where around 150,000 children have reportedly not been immunised.<br /><br />According to cases recorded by the National Institute of Health, the total number of polio cases reported this year is at least 21.<br /><br />Eight cases were detected in the Khyber tribal region.<br /><br />Polio cases have also been reported in areas like Rajanpur district of Punjab and Larkana district of Sindh that were free of the virus since 2004-05.</p>
<p> A cleric in Pakistan's Punjab province has warned that a jihad would be launched against polio vaccination teams at a time when the World Health Organisation has expressed concern at the emergence of new cases of the disease across the country.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Maulvi Ibrahim Chisti of Muzaffargarh district declared the anti-polio campaign as "un-Islamic" and announced at the local mosque that jihad (holy war) should be carried out against the polio vaccination team.<br /><br />Chisti made the remarks after finding out that a vaccination team had entered Khan Pur Bagga Sher area of Muzaffargarh and asked families to cooperate with the campaign.</p>.<p>The cleric went to the largest mosque in the area and declared that polio drops were "poison" and against Islam, The Express Tribune reported.</p>.<p>He warned that if the vaccination team forced anyone to participate in the campaign, then jihad was "the only option".<br /><br />As a result, the polio team returned to Muzaffargarh city without carrying out any immunisation and reported the matter to senior officials.<br /><br />A police inquiry was ordered and a raid was conducted in the cleric's area.<br />However, Chisti escaped by the time the police arrived.<br /><br />Residents said the cleric had tried to convince them that the polio campaign was a "Western conspiracy" to render the population impotent.</p>.<p>After the police raid, the vaccination team returned to the area to implement the immunisation campaign.<br /><br />The WHO recently expressed concern over a spike in polio cases across Pakistan, particularly the country's restive northwestern tribal region, where around 150,000 children have reportedly not been immunised.<br /><br />According to cases recorded by the National Institute of Health, the total number of polio cases reported this year is at least 21.<br /><br />Eight cases were detected in the Khyber tribal region.<br /><br />Polio cases have also been reported in areas like Rajanpur district of Punjab and Larkana district of Sindh that were free of the virus since 2004-05.</p>