The government in Pakistan has decided to provide police protection to health workers carrying out the polio immunization programme on Thursday.

The move follows the killing of nine workers in some parts of the country by terrorists who are against the immunization programme. The immunization programme was halted in several parts of the country and the UN had asked its staff to suspend its field participation until better security arrangements were made.

The killing of the workers has posed a risk of losing the progress made in the country in the fight against polio disease. Pakistan is one of the three countries in the world that are stiff affected by the disease. The Taliban has said that it is not involved in the killing of the health workers.

Militants have accused health workers of working and spying with the US. They allege that the vaccine is aimed at making Muslim children sterile. Taliban commanders had said that the vaccinations cannot go further unless the US stops its drone attacks in the northwest tribal region of the country.

The stiff opposition from the militants is a result of a fake vaccination programme used by the operatives of the CIA to trace down al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden in the previous year in the country.