'Father of Pak Taliban' issues fatwa for parents to give polio vaccination to kids despite TTP warnings

Pakistan's religious scholar, commonly known as the "Father of the Taliban", has issued a fatwa urging parents to immunize their children against polio and other fatal diseases, saying that vaccinations comply with the Islamic law.

The announcement by the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary head, Maulana Samiul Haq, came more than a year after the Tehreik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) banned polio immunization following a fake CIA vaccination programme meant to track slain Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

Haq has signed a statement dated October 30 telling the parents to disregard the militants' warnings and give the injections and drops of these vaccines to their children, the Daily Times reports.

According to the report, the ban led to a surge in polio cases in Pakistan threatening worldwide efforts to eradicate the infectious disease.

Taliban fighters have launched regular attacks on medical workers and security personnel resulting in at least 25 deaths since the June 2012 prohibition on inoculation.