Sindh CM considers blocking SIMs, CNICs of parents refusing polio drops

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said his government is considering blocking mobile SIMs and suspending the national identity cards and passports of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children against polio.

Chairing a meeting on polio eradication at the CM House on Friday, Mr Shah said refusal to administer the vaccine endangered both individual families and the wider community. “I have no other options but to penalise those who shirk their national duty of eradicating polio, a responsibility that starts at home and affects the entire province and country,” he said.

The chief minister announced the creation of a Polio Vaccine Refusal Cell at the CM House to identify and follow up on refusal cases. He directed the Health Department to share union council-level data so that such households could be addressed through “social, political and administrative means.” Elected representatives and local officials have also been asked to ensure coverage, including by visiting households to administer drops where refusals persist.

Mr Shah expressed concern over the rise in cases, noting that Sindh has recorded nine of the 29 cases reported across Pakistan this year. In the September campaign alone, more than 216,000 children missed vaccination, including 35,522 whose parents refused drops.

Warning against negligence, he said government officials showing poor performance would be removed from their posts. “Any official not showing results will no longer be part of my team,” he said.