Pakistani Taliban’s Deadly Cocktail –Terror and Polio

Monish Gulati

A police escort was killed and another wounded when militants attacked a team of polio vaccinators on the outskirts of Peshawar on 30 November.¹ Earlier on 23 November, militants in Pakistan kidnapped eleven teachers involved in a polio vaccination campaign for school children at a private school in the Bara area of the Khyber tribal agency. The militants took the teachers to an area controlled by Taliban-affiliated Lashkar-e-Islam group.² These incidents are amongst a string of senseless attacks carried out over the last few years by the Pakistani Taliban (or the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan-TTP) on health workers working under Pakistan’s polio immunisation programme. This article looks at the impact of these actions of the TTP on Pakistan’s efforts to rid itself of polio, particularly after medical evidence has indicated that Pakistan may have contributed to the spread of the disease to Syria, and implications this holds for India.

A strain of the virus that originated in Pakistan has caused polio and crippled at least 13 children in Deir al-Zor, Syria, where an outbreak was detected in October. Genetic sequencing has confirmed the origin of the virus strain found in Syrian children. According to the Assistant Director-General for Polio, Emergencies and Country Collaboration at the World Health Organisation (WHO), the virus has travelled over land to Syria³ and is spreading across the Middle East. Emergency plans are being implemented to vaccinate more than 20 million children in the region.⁴ Closely related strains of the wild polio virus of Pakistani origin have also been detected in sewage samples in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip since February 2013. The vaccinations are to be carried out in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Syria, and Turkey.⁵

Pakistan

Pakistan is one of three nations in the world (others being Afghanistan and Nigeria) where polio remains endemic. Efforts to stamp out polio in Pakistan through an oral immunisation programme have been on since 1994. The programme had begun to yield results; in 2011 there were 198 new recorded cases of polio in Pakistan, while in 2012, there were just 58. However, the official number of polio cases detected so far this year, have risen to 72. Most of the polio cases have been detected in Pakistan's tribal regions; 19 cases from North Waziristan, 17 from Khyber, 9 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 6 each from Bannu and Punjab, and 4 from Sindh have been reported so far this year.⁶

The Pakistani polio programme was initially targeted by the clergy and the Taliban who declared the vaccination as a Western ploy to render Muslims sterile by alluding to the fact that it was receiving foreign financial assistance. However, there was little improvement in the situation even after the funding of the programme was taken over by the Pakistani government with the assistance of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF), which had pledged to pay the seven per cent annual interest on the $227 million loan the Islamic Development Bank had provided to Pakistan for polio immunisation.

Another misconception is that the polio vaccine contains materials forbidden by Islam, such as alcohol and pig’s blood.⁷ The misconceptions are worse among the Pashtun population. Officials associated with the programme, however, blame it on the country’s failure to ensure quality polio vaccination, preventing immunisation refusal and the inability to reach all children under five years of age.⁸

Since July last year, 24 health workers and policemen providing protection to these health workers have been killed and 14 others injured in 24 targeted attacks on vaccinators in different parts of the country by the Taliban.⁹ The most recent attack having taken place on the outskirts of Peshawar when two people were killed and 13 wounded in a bombing that targeted polio workers.¹⁰ Attacks on health workers have not been restricted to the north of the country; in December 2012, gunmen killed four women working on a government polio vaccination campaign in Karachi.

Other Factors

Besides vaccination refusal, denial of access to certain restive areas is a major cause for the rise in polio cases. According to reports, the authorities in FATA were unable to vaccinate around 900,000 targeted children either due to the TTP’s ban on vaccination in North and South Waziristan agencies last year or due to military action against militants in other agencies.

Many Pakistanis have viewed polio vaccination campaigns with suspicion after the CIA's use of a fake vaccination program in 2011 to collect DNA samples from residents of Osama bin Laden's compound to verify his location. The policy gave credence to the conspiracy theories in circulation. Last year, a Taliban commander in northwest Pakistan announced a ban on polio vaccines for children in the region as long as the US continues its campaign of drone strikes in the region. The TTP also believes that western powers are using polio vaccination programmes as a cover for espionage. ¹¹

However, many experts believe TTP’s strategy goes deeper. “It’s another way of trying to control the population through fear”. The difference in perception between the Afghan Taliban and the TTP on such issues gives credence to this notion. Mullah Omar had issued a statement that called for a change in the Taliban attitude, particularly towards women’s rights and education. In May 2013, the Afghan Taliban endorsed polio vaccination saying, “According to the latest international medicine science, the polio disease can only be cured by preventive measures i.e. the anti-polio drops and the vaccination of children against this disease. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan supports and lends a hand to all those programs which works for the health care of the helpless people of our country.”¹² Mullah Omar has allowed polio immunisation in Taliban dominated areas of Afghanistan since 2007.¹³

The Afghan Taliban proceeded to warn organisations not to attack polio immunisation teams. The Taliban ‘advisory’ was applicable to all its affiliates including the TTP. However the TTP continued with its targeting of Pakistani health workers carrying out polio-immunisation; drawing international condemnation. These acts, amongst others including kidnapping and extortion, were reported to have deeply strained the relations between the TTP and Mullah Omar.

Gender Aspect

It has been suggested that there is a gendered aspect to TTP’s actions based on the recent history of militant violence being directed against “lady health workers”, a body of more than 100,000 women who deliver door-to-door healthcare.¹⁴ The lady health worker programme was initiated by Benazir Bhutto in 1994, and for many women and girls in remote areas, they provide the only direct access to healthcare. A 2012 study published in the British Medical Journal looked at how the Taliban threatened and attacked female health workers in Swat during their brief period of control of the area. Lady health workers were socially ostracised after public vilification by the TTP. The study also found that many Lady health workers stopped working or left the area due to the threat to their lives.

Afghanistan

According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Afghanistan is one of three countries in the world where polio remains endemic. There have been 8 confirmed cases of polio in 2013 (as of October) and 37 reported cases in 2012, which were confined to the southern provinces, specifically within thirteen districts in the provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, and Uruzgan. However, the eight cases of polio confirmed in 2013 are located in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. Same has been confirmed by WHO, which said that polio has been eradicated across the country except Kunar and Nangarhar provinces (which are adjoining FATA).¹⁵

India

WHO removed India from the list of polio-endemic countries in March 2012 after India successfully completed an entire year without an incidence of polio. However, India will have to remain polio free for two more years before it is declared polio-free by the WHO.¹⁶ India is alive to the possibility of the polio virus entering the country through transnational movement of people, particularly from Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Central government has alerted all the States bordering the neighbouring countries to strengthen surveillance. Special booths have been established on the Wagah border and Attari and Munabao train stations to ensure that all children under the age of 5 coming from across the border are given polio drops.

In 2012, after WHO removed India from the list of polio-endemic countries, Dr. Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, a vaccine expert at Aga Khan University’s medical school in Karachi, stated “[n]othing wounded our pride as much as that”. Following the WHO announcement, Pakistan’s government went on an emergency footing. A cabinet-level “polio cell” ¹⁷ was created and various mullahs were drafted to endorse the vaccination campaign in order to dispel persistent rumours and to give moral legitimacy to the program. The mullahs subsequently issued 24 fatwas in favour of vaccination and the same was disseminated to the public through the health care workers.

Impact

Given the current situation where Syrians refugees in neighboring countries have topped two million and that the immunization level in these areas is not reassuring, the risk of further spread of the wild poliovirus across the region is considered to be high. A surveillance alert has been issued to actively search for additional potential cases. Lebanon, which hosts more than 800,000 Syrian refugees, is vaccinating all children under five. In Europe, experts have warned that the Syrian refugees could inadvertently bring polio virus to Europe.¹⁸ The issue has further complicated the humanitarian crisis arising out of the Syrian conflict.

Back in Pakistan, the government has included polio vaccination programme on the agenda for the proposed dialogue with the Taliban groups. Imran Khan’s new provincial government in KPK is planning to give polio workers weapons licenses to carry their own guns.¹⁹ However, the issue remains complex not only because of the TTP and insurgency in FATA but because of the fact that the polio virus is also endemic to Afghanistan and that Pakistan hosts large number Afghan refugees. This worsening situation in Pakistan has the capability to negate the positive gains seen in Afghanistan as cross-border movements in the region could see a resurge of polio in the region.

India on the other hand, besides escalation of terrorism post-2014, would also be mindful of the polio virus as a destabilized region could see refugee movements into the country at a time it would be celebrating the success of its decades-long ‘Pulse-polio’ programme.

(The author is an independent analyst based in New Delhi)

Endnotes

1. Polio cop, 3 soldiers killed in attacks, The Nation, December 01, 2013. http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/na...
2. Jibran Ahmad. Pakistan militants kidnap 11 teachers in polio vaccination campaign, Reuters, November 23, 2013. http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-militants-kidnap-11-teachers-polio-vaccin...
3. Syed Fazl-e-Haider. The virus of extremism fuels the spread of polio in Pakistan, The National, November 2, 2013. http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/the-virus-of-e...
4. Stephanie Nebehay Polio strain in Syria originated in Pakistan, WHO confirms, Reuters, Nov. 11, 2013. http://www.nbcnews.com/health/polio-strain-syria-originated-pakistan-who...
5. WHO: Pakistan Polio Strain In Syria, RFE/RL, November 12, 2013.
   http://www.rferl.org/content/pakistan-polio-syria/25165286.html
6. Ashfaq Yusufzai. Polio incidence higher than last year, Dawn, November 13, 2013.
   http://dawn.com/news/1056082/polio-incidence-higher-than-last-year
7. Samira Shackle. The struggle for a Polio-free Pakistan, NewStatesman, June 252013. http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/06/struggle-polio-free-pakistan
8. Ser 6.
9. Ser 3.
10. 2 killed in blast targeting Pakistani polio workers, CNN, October 8, 2013. http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/07/world/asia/pakistan-polio-workers-attack/
11. Ser 3.
12. Zubair Babakarkhail and Dean Nelson. Taliban renounces war on anti-polio workers, The Telegraph, May 13 2013. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/10053981/Tali...
13. Yaroslav Trofimov. ‘Risky Ally in War on Polio: the Taliban,’ WSJ, January 15, 2010. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB126298998237022117
14. Ser 7.
15. BBC Pashto, November 19, 2013.
16. Aarti Dhar. India no more a polio-endemic country: WHO, The Hindu, February 25, 2012. http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/india-no-more-a-polioendemic-cou...
17. Khoso directs revival of Polio Cell, Dawn, June 02, 2013.
    http://dawn.com/2013/06/02/khoso-directs-revival-of-polio-cell/
18. Owen Bennett. Europe at risk of polio outbreak as refugees flee Syria, Express, November 8, 2013. http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/441872/Europe-at-risk-of-polio-outbr...
19. Ser 7.  

Politics of Corruption in Bangladesh

Neha Mehta 

(Research Assistant, VIF)

Corruption is rampant in Bangladesh in almost every sphere of life. However, a series of high profile corruption scandals, such as in the Padma Bridge project, the Railway Scandal, the Hall Mark Group scam, Destiny Group and last year’s share market scam under the current Sheikh Hasina government, that involved high ranking ministers and officials has brought the credibility of the government under the scanner. In a situation of continuous political strife and with elections fast approaching, a series of corruption scams of such magnitude has led the general public to question the motives of the government that came to power on the pretext of taking firm action against corruption. Adding to this, the dismissive and defensive stance of the government has only worsened its position.

In Bangladesh, with politics getting intertwined with corruption, the cycle of blame game starts with the tenure of each party forming the government alternatively, to take political advantage, in their pursuit for power. The continuous political bickering over corruption issues in Bangladesh has been a constant over the years, with each party in power probing scandals that involved party leaders of the opposition and in turn getting rid of their own cases that were being pursued by the last government.

Institutionally the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was established in 2004 to have a neutral, independent institution to enact preventative and retributive policies to fight corruption in a variety of entities, both governmental and non-governmental. ¹ However in the latest report on Bangladesh brought out by the International Crisis Group², the ACC was termed as a “toothless tiger” by the chairman of ACC Ghulam Rahman, who said that it is now required to obtain the governments permission before investigating officers, which in turn increases the chances of the corrupt suspects to put pressure on its subordinates to not give information or cooperating with ACC. In addition, the old cases against senior party leaders have been wiped out by finding loop holes in the judicial process with the help of the National Committee on Withdrawl of Politically-Motivated Cases that recommended the dismissal of 315 corruption cases through Feb 2012.³

However, there is no mistaking the fact that Awami League government has had credible success on many fronts like in destroying terrorist networks functioning in the country, jailing extremists and stopping foreign funding of terrorist organistaions operating from its soil. From the verge of being declared as a state sponsor of terrorism during the last BNP led government, it has come a long way. In the domain of foreign policy, it has taken constructive strides, especially in improving relations with India, mainly by addressing its security concerns and making efforts to find solutions to long standing issues between the two countries. Additionally, the economy has grown at an impressive rate of around 6 percent⁴ as well as strides made in education, healthcare and women upliftment under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership has been much appreciated. However, inspite of all the positive steps taken by the government, there is a rising discontentment and disillusionment against a government that is considered the secular face of Bangladeshi politics and which came to power with a thumping majority in the elections of 2008. A series of corruption allegations involving government functionaries among others has tainted its image.

Corruption allegations in various domains especially in the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project led multilateral lending agency like World Bank cancelling the pledged $1.2 billion credit for the $2.9 billion Padma bridge project on June 29 2012, stating that it found 'credible evidence' of corruption in the project. This in turn, gave a huge setback to the image of Bangladesh abroad and embarrassed the Awami League government. A country that is highly dependent on development aid from external agencies, it becomes all the more crucial to keep a clean image. World Bank is an important credit provider for development projects in Bangladesh and it pulling back due to the issue of corruption, in turn brought the Padma Bridge project to a standstill, as the other donors (Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) could not move forward without it. The Padma Bridge Project which was conceptualized with the aim to overhaul the transportation infrastructure that intended to connect the South-Western region of the country, “in order to stimulate economic growth by facilitating inter-regional, cross-river transport of passengers and freight, and transmission of natural gas, telecommunication and electricity in a cost effective manner”⁵, is particularly crucial to Awami League as it formed part of its election manifesto. Therefore, fulfilling its promises becomes imperative as it would definitely have a bearing on the elections due next year.

Initially, the stance of the Bangladeshi government to the corruption allegations in the Padma Bridge Project was defensive and defiant, maintaining that a lack of evidence in the case was the reason behind their inaction. However, the need to get the project started, along with the dire need to get the finances, they had to albeit reluctantly comply to the conditionality that was put forth by the World Bank officials with a promise to have a credible investigation and transparent implementation of Padma bridge project.

Further, allegations against the Railway Minister of the Sheikh Hasina government, Suranjit Sengupta over the issue of taking cash bribes from applicants seeking jobs in the state run railway led to his resignation and brought a barrage of criticism against the government. Although, he denied taking money from the applicants and subsequently even resigned, but was made a minister without portfolio after he submitted his resignation, which caused great disappointment to the public who expected stern action against the accused.

In addition, cases of corruption in the financial sector like the illegal disbursement of a loan of Tk 3,547 crore to Hallmark Group and five other companies between 2010 and May this year⁶ by Sonali Bank, in which the alleged involvement of the Prime Minister's Health and Family Welfare advisor, Syed Modasser Ali in the scam, brings into focus the connection of a high level government functionary in the scandal. Besides, the off-hand remark of the Finance Minister AMA Muhith's on this issue that “Tk 4,000 crore loan scandal out of the Tk 40,000 crore loan in the country’s banking sector is not a big deal”, showed the casual manner in which such a issue was being addressed. In addition, the share market scam in which about Tk 20,000 crore were swindled and the Destiny group scam, have all affected the popularity of the government severely especially for people who viewed their coming to power as a welcome change as against the corrupt and radical policies of the last BNP led government.

Transparency International’s latest report on “Positive and Negative Roles of the Members of the 9^thParliament: A Review” that put forth its findings, raked up a political storm with strong reactions from the Awami League. The report stated that around 97 percent of the MPs are involved in “negative activities and 70 percent were involved in criminal activities ⁷. Ministers from the Awami League, however, questioned the motive as well as the timing of the report saying it is ‘ill motivated” and considered it as a conspiracy to bring non-elected people to power as well as to damage the image of the elected MPs. The issue was extensively politicized and they even contemplated action against the international watchdog, which shows little tolerance for criticism, rather it should make efforts to improve its image than to take action against independent agencies.

Criticism against Sheikh Hasina has mounted over the months domestically as well as internationally, especially by various international agencies that have been critical in their assessment of her policies. The scrapping of the provision of a caretaker government to oversee elections by adopting the fifteenth amendment to the constitution, has led to a political stalemate over the issue. In addition, actions against the Grameen bank and other issues have been viewed negatively. Adding to it, the cases of corruption against the government has deteriorated its standing.

However, Bangladesh is not new to corruption rather it has struggled to keep a clean image. The state of governance and corruption during the BNP led government had reached at its lowest ebb. Bangladesh was at the bottom for five years (2001-2005) in the annual corruption perception index (CPI) by the Transparency International (TI) during the tenure of the BNP led government.⁸ However in the following six years it improved slightly. From 2006-2011, it ranked third, seventh, tenth, thirteenth, twelfth and thirteenth respectively.⁹

The need for a progressive Bangladesh demands secular credentials and a corruption free image. A series of scandals of such magnitude and frequency has gone against the incumbent government, that came to power as an alternative to a government, that was viewed as being radical, corrupt and extreme in its approach. The opposition parties especially the BNP, on the other hand are trying to use the discontentment of the people to their advantage, by projecting themselves as the alternative proposing radical policies. The need of the hour, however, is stern action against the accused and less politics over the issue to turn around the battered image of the Awami League. The future of Bangladesh would suffer due to the mistake of a few corrupt people which might result in bringing a radical government to power, governed by Islamists that would only take the country backward and would not benefit anyone.

Endnotes

1. Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, “ Anti-Corruption Commission Bangladesh”, [Online: web] Accessed: 2 Nov 2012: URL: http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/resources/organizations/anti-corruption-commission-bangladesh
2. International Crisis Group (13 June 2012) “Bangladesh Back to the Future: Asia Report No. 226” [Online: web] Accessed: 2 Nov 2012: URL: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-asia/bangladesh/226-bangladesh-back-to-the-future.pdf
3. Ibid
4. Central Intelligence Agency, “World Fact Book” [Online: web] Accessed: 14 Nov 2012:URL:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2003.html
5. World Bank (2012) Bangladesh Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project [Online: web]Accessed 2 Nov 2012 URL:http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P111017/bangladesh-padma-multipurpose-bridge-project?lang=en
6. The Daily Star (2 Sept 2012), “Hallmark MD 'ready to return money'”, [Online: web]
   Accessed 2 Nov 2012: URL: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=40480
7. The Daily Star (20 Nov 2012), “Study on MPs: TIB flayed at Sangsad” , [Online: web]
   Accessed 20 Nov 2012: URL: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=258186
8. The Daily Star (2 Dec 2011), “TI's Graft Index Bangladesh betters a bit”, [Online: web]
   Accessed 12 Nov 2012: URL: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=212570
9. Ibid