70 soldiers suspended for refusing vaccine
QUETTA: Balochistan province has suspended 70 paramilitary troops without pay ater they refused to receive COVID-19 vaccines, officials said.
The group were suspended in the province on Wednesday “ater repeated writen warnings and verbal requests” to get the jabs, said Habib Ahmed Bangalzai, a senior local official.
“They will also not get their salaries,” Bangalzai added.
The troops from the Balochistan Levies, a paramilitary force that assists police with law enforcement, have direct contact with the public, the official said.
Wali Breach, another senior government official, confirmed the suspensions.
The move comes ater the national government advised all its employees to get vaccinated.
Balochistan authorities were on Thursday due to implement a ban on unvaccinated people entering government offices, public parks, shopping malls and public transport.
Pakistan’s nationwide vaccination rollout has been ramped up in recent weeks with more than 350,000 doses administered on most days.
Almost 16 million shots have been given to date, with China supplying most of the jabs.
But concerns about the side effects, coupled with misinformation that the vaccines cause infertility or death within two years, have sparked some hesitancy.
Meanwhile, a large number of people, who have travelled to Islamabad from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for vaccination, blocked 9th Avenue for hours during a protest ater being told by staff at F-9 vaccination centre that they have run short of Pfizer and Astrazeneca.
Over 2,000 people moved towards the F-9 Vaccination Centre and police were unable to stop them, officials of the capital administration said, adding the police failure to disperse the crowd might have proved counterproductive as the violent mob could have put the lives of the staff working at the vaccination centre at risk.
Two days ago about 3,000 people smashed the glass doors of the vaccination centre and stormed inside creating panic among members of staff at the centre. They were protesting against the shortage of Pfizer and Astrazeneca vaccines.
Officials said on both days, the police could not disperse the crowd. Like June 28, staff at the centre suspended their work due to the hostile situation and remained captive for hours. The crowd was annoyed when staff informed them about unavailability of Pfizer and Astrazeneca.