QUETTA: The World Health Organisation on Thursday suspended its activities in Balochistan in the aftermath of a cold-blooded murder of four polio workers in Quetta on Wednesday.
According to well-placed sources in the WHO, the decision was made owing to looming threats to polio workers in Balochistan.
“We have suspended all operations in Balochistan”, the source said.
WHO and the United Nations International Children’s Educational Fund (Unicef) have been assisting the provincial government of Balochistan in eradicating polio virus from the province for more than twenty years.
In the meantime, Unicef has also scaled down its activities in Balochistan because of security threats to its staff.
An officer of the Unicef, who requested anonymity owing to the sensitivity of the matter, told Dawn that communication programs of the organisations were halted for an indefinite period in the province.
“We will not make programs to motivate the people to administer polio drops to their kids,” he said.
Similarly, the Unicef has also forbidden its staff from visiting far-flung areas of Balochistan in the aftermath of the polio workers’ killing in Quetta.
“We have also stopped our outreach program,” he added.
Security around UN offices in Balochistan was tightened after the attack.
Chief Secretary Balochistan Saifullah Chattha chaired an emergency meeting and invited all UN heads in the province to deliberate over security threats. He also directed police to tighten security around UN offices.
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