Though the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has banned new recruitment, the Punjab government plans to petition it for relaxation in rules to appoint vaccinators in Rawalpindi.

A senior officer of City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) told Dawn on Saturday that 19 seats of polio vaccinators had been lying vacant for the last 10 months but they realized now to fill them up when elections were around the corner.

The intentions are clear: to oblige the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz workers, he said on condition of anonymity.