Saudi Arabia now requires Pakistani travellers to have a mandatory polio vaccination certificate. This rule also applies to travellers in Afghanistan, Kenya, Congo, and Mozambique. Severe penalties will apply for non-compliance.
Travellers transiting through these countries for less than 12 hours are exempt, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).
Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two polio-endemic countries. In 2024, Pakistan reported 69 polio cases. Balochistan reported the highest number, with 27 cases. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa followed with 21 cases, Sindh with 19, and Punjab and Islamabad with one each.
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme stresses that polio has no cure, and vaccination is crucial. The government’s latest campaign in December 2024 aimed to vaccinate 44 million children.
Security issues, misinformation, and parental refusals complicate vaccination efforts. In 2024, over 60% of polio-affected children had not received routine immunizations. Health authorities formed a committee to coordinate the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) and the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) to address this.
Recently, authorities in Karachi deported 51 Pakistanis from seven countries. Additionally, due to document issues, 30 passengers were denied boarding at Jinnah International Airport. Of these, 11 travelled to China and Malaysia on business and visit visas. Four others were headed to Oman on family visit visas.
Deportees came primarily from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, and the UK. Among them, 33 arrived from Saudi Arabia and 14 from Iraq, mostly on emergency passports. Oman, Zambia, and Qatar each deported one Pakistani during the same period.
