KARAK: A policeman deployed on the security of an anti-polio vaccination team was killed in a gun attack in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said on Monday.
The incident happened hours after Pakistan launched the nationwide anti-polio drive to vaccinate 44 million children. Comprehensive arrangements have been made for the safety of polio workers and the successful conduct of vaccination of children below five years of age.
District Police Officer (DPO) Karak said that an unidentified gunman riding a motorbike opened fire on a polio vaccination team in the Shakarkhel area of the Terai Police Station, resulting in the killing of a policeman, Mohammad Irfan, and injuring the team member.
A large contingent of police reached the spot and cordoned off the area to search for the accused. While the deceased’s body and the injured vaccinator were shifted to the hospital.
As the national anti-polio campaign launched today, the Prime Minister’s Focal Person For Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq said that the government is determined to make the vaccine accessible to all children up to the age of five years.
Ayesha Raza paid tributes to the brave frontline polio workers who are serving in difficult circumstances. “The routine vaccination is necessary to protect against this crippling disease and other deadly diseases,” she maintained.
According to the details, 85000 mobile teams have been formed to administer anti-polio drops to over 23.3 million children. In Sindh, 8000 teams have been formed to administer polio vaccine drops to 10.6 million children.
Moreover, 42000 polio teams have been constituted to ensure the polio vaccine drops to 7.3 million children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Whereas, the Quetta Grand Health Alliance has announced a boycott of the anti-polio campaign in Balochistan in a protest to their demands.
