Islamabad: Pakistan faced international humiliation last year when the World Health Organisation imposed travel restrictions on account of failure to curb the polio virus. The government, in a recent meeting, has asked the European Union to relax the travel restrictions. In a meeting with a German delegation, President Mamnoon Hussain asked to relax the restraints and said that the international community should be considerate and help Pakistan work towards the eradication of the virus.
The President said the main cause of the increase in the number of polio cases in the recent years was terrorism, because of which many tribal areas in the country were still inaccessible. "Pakistan is not responsible for the situation, but the elements who caused the spread of terrorism in the region," he said.
He assured the delegation that the country was committed to eradicating the disease and the situation was now seemingly improving. He also said that the government was taking effective measures to curb terrorism, violation of human rights, discrimination against minorities and gender inequality.
Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where the disease remains endemic.
