HYDERABAD, Oct 26: District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil has assured that the district government will continue to extend its full cooperation in elimination of polio and expressed satisfaction that the district had remained polio free during the last three years.

He, however, said that precautionary measures were extremely necessary as some polio cases had been reported in the adjoining towns.

He said this while talking to WHO representative for Eradication of Polio and Chickenpox Dr Shahzad Asif Baig and others at his office here on Thursday.

MNA Pervez Yousuf Qureshi, district focal person for eradication of polio, Dr Masood Hussain Jafri and WHO surveillance officer, Dr Aneela were also present on the occasion.

He said it was due to the joint and concerted efforts of the WHO district health department and district government that Hyderabad has remained polio free during the last three years.

He, however, said that some polio cases had been reported in Karachi and Jacobabad which has sounded an alarm bell for Hyderabad.

Dr Shahzad Asif Baig told the meeting that presently, 613 polio cases have been reported throughout world, out of which 16 cases have been reported in Pakistan. Sindh province was on the top as eight cases have been reported here while one case has been reported in Punjab, two in Balochistan and five in NWFP. He said that 72nd round of polio campaign will be started in Hyderabad on Oct 30 which will continue till Nov 1.He said 297,020 children will be administered anti-polio drops along with vitamin-A drops. He said arrangements have been made to administer polio drops to 32 million children throughout the country.

He further said that from Nov 12 to Nov 27, children between 9 months to 13 years of age will be vaccinated against chickenpox throughout the province.

He appealed to the parents to cooperate with the health teams in the anti-polio and anti-chickenpox drive.

PTCL INEFFICIENCY: Amir Jamaat-i-Islami Hyderabad Shaikh Shoukat Ali has lashed out at the PTCL for its alleged inefficiency and added that it has no right to transfer the bills of answering machine towards the subscribers.

He claimed that ever since the privatisation of the PTCL its performance has remained disappointing.

In a statement issued here on Friday, he said that more than 500 telephones in city and Latifabad talukas have been lying out of order for the last so many months.

He said throughout the world the telephone charges are reduced in case of increase in the number of calls but in Pakistan withholding tax is levied on the bills exceeding Rs1,000.

He said that the answering machine was in fact a money minting machine.

The Jamaat leader urged the government to take notice of the inefficiency of the PTCL.

DEMO: Students belonging to SPSF-SB of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology Jamshoro staged a protest demonstration outside the press club here on Friday against the inordinate delay in the dispensation of justice in Mir Murtaza Bhutto murder case.

They raised slogans against the Karachi police.

Speaking on the occasion, Mohammad Ali Mirjat, Mohammad Moosa Khoso, Babar Pitafi regretted that eleven years have been passed but justice was being delayed in Mir Murtaza Bhutto murder case.

They appealed to the Supreme Court to take notice of the inordinate delay in this case.