Pakistani parents were arrested and hundreds of others are being sought by authorities after refusing proper polio vaccination for their kids.
Per ABC News, about 471 Pakistani parents were arrested amid the country's renewed efforts to eradicate the paralysing disease.
Pakistan remains to be one of the three remaining countries where polio cases remain endemic.
The Pakistani parents were reportedly arrested on Monday during a fresh immunization drive in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province - the are were the crippling virus is quite prevalent.
Local authorities said the detained parents will only be freed once they promise in writing that they will have their kids vaccinated against polio.
Deputy commissioner of Peshawar Riaz Khan said that parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated will be sent to jail since the Pakistani government has already declared war against the disease, BBC has learned.
Khan's words come amid attacks made by the Taliban who are obviously against the help extended by health workers. Some locales are very suspicious of the vaccinations and fear that this will sterilize their posterity.
"This is the first time such drastic action was taken," Peshawar district administration spokesman Ferroz Shah said. "This shows determination of the government to eradicate polio."
The government now aims to vaccinate over 2.7 million children across the said province alone. This is a response to the significant increase in polio cases last year.
Rotary's National PolioPlus Chair for Pakistan Aziz Memon said he is very optimistic of the immunization drive and their efforts to eradicate the disease in their country, reports Voice of America.
"We are almost done," said Memon. "Pakistan is a tumbling block and hopefully in a year you will see that the plans we have we will be able to give you some good news."
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