Policeman Killed, Four Injured in Attack on Polio Team Security in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD — A police constable was killed and four others were injured on Monday after gunmen attacked a law enforcement team assigned to provide security for a polio vaccination campaign in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said.
The attack took place in Thall tehsil of Hangu district on the opening day of a week-long immunization drive scheduled from April 13 to April 19.
According to district police, unidentified assailants opened fire on the police party, killing one officer and injuring four others. The wounded personnel were taken to a hospital for treatment.
Security forces launched a search operation in the area to locate the attackers.
Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only countries where wild poliovirus is still endemic, and vaccination teams in Pakistan have frequently been targeted, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
In February, a police officer was killed in a similar attack on a vaccination team in Chaman district of Balochistan.
Separate incidents in Lahore that same month also saw violence against polio workers. In one case, residents in the Harbanspura area refused to allow health workers to administer polio drops to children and allegedly assaulted them before attacking responding police officers.
Police said the suspects later called in accomplices, who also assaulted the workers. A case was subsequently registered.
In another incident, authorities in Shahdara filed charges against parents accused of harassing female polio workers during vaccination visits.
Official data shows that since 2012, at least 96 people have been killed in attacks linked to polio campaigns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including 61 police personnel and seven health workers. More than 170 others have been injured, among them 124 police officers and 28 health workers. During the same period, dozens of people, including health workers and civilians, have also been kidnapped during vaccination drives. (Source: IANS)
