PESHAWAR: Publication of a decree issued from Jamia Darul Uloom Haqqania, Nowshera, in favour of vaccination has annoyed Maulana Samiul Haq, the head of the seminary, as it can jeopardise the proposed dialogue process with Taliban, according to sources.
“We favour vaccination as it protects children against diseases and therefore we have issued a fatwa to increase public awareness concerning significance of immunisation,” according to one of the Maulana Samiul Haq’s assistants. Speaking to Dawn, he said that a one-page decree issued from Darul Uloom Haqqania on Oct 30 last year in support of vaccination was aimed at brushing aside misconception about the vaccination for nine vaccine-preventable childhood ailments, including polio, but it was not supposed to be published.
However, the timing of the publication of fatwa in (Peshawar-based) newspapers was not right because it could sabotage the dialogue process with Taliban, he said. “It is unethical that the directorate of health, Fata, has published the fatwa unauthorised which has enraged Maulana Sami,” he said.
The World Health Organisation and the Unicef had long requested him (Maulana Sami) to get the fatwa published in newspapers to cope with refusals against oral polio vaccine in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and other parts of the country, but they had been advised to stay away.
“We have asked them that time for its publication was not appropriate as the prime minister has tasked Maulana Sami to broker peace talks with Taliban,” he said.
“Though Taliban have denied killing polio workers, yet we should take extreme care while making the fatwa public,” the aide to Maulana Samiul had said.
Maulana Samiul Haq had also conveyed his reservations to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor over what he termed ‘the unauthorised’ publication of the decree.
He said that the government should have asked him before printing of the document as advertisement in newspapers.
“We think that banning of polio vaccination in North and South Waziristan agencies by Taliban is part of the problem. Once we succeed in convincing Taliban to holding peace talks with the government, they (Taliban) will allow vaccination,” he said.
Maulana Samiul Haq, who is chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam besides running the affairs of Darul Uloom Haqqania, advised the governor to stop publication of the fatwa and be patient till the situation with regard to dialogue with Taliban improved.
Last month, Maulana Samiul Haq joined Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan in his native Akora Khattak at an inaugural campaign for polio eradication as part of his efforts to ensure immunisation of children.
“He (Maulana Samiul Haq) is in favour of vaccination because he thinks it safe for humans in context of medical research. According to Islamic teachings, the parents are required to vaccinate their children against avoidable diseases,” he said.
According to rules, the government or donor agencies should seek permission before printing the fatwa because it is meant to sensitise people regarding the importance of vaccination, he said.
Publication of fatwa at this point could send wrong message both to people as well as Taliban and could backfire instead of ensuring immunisation of children, he said.