Islamabad, May 19 (IANS) At least two police personnel escorting polio vaccination teams were killed in separate incidents in Bajaur district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local media reported.
Unidentified assailants attacked the polio vaccination teams in Tabbai and Dag Qila regions of Salarzai on Monday, Geo News reported, citing a senior police official.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi condemned the attack on police personnel guarding polio teams and ordered the Inspector General to submit a detailed report on the incident.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus remains endemic. Polio workers in Pakistan have been frequently targeted in attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Earlier in April, a police constable was killed and four others injured after a law enforcement party heading to provide security for polio teams in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was attacked, local media reported.
The incident happened during a polio vaccination campaign in Thall tehsil of Hangu on April 13. In a statement, the Hangu district police said that unidentified assailants opened fire on a police party, killing a police officer and injuring four others, the Dawn reported.
In February, a police officer was killed when unidentified assailants opened fire on a police vaccination team in Chaman district of Pakistan’s Balochistan.
In a similar incident in February, polio teams were attacked in different areas of Pakistan’s Lahore as parents did not allow them to administer polio drops to their children.
According to police, the suspects in the Harbanspura area did not allow the polio team to administer drops to their children and then allegedly attacked the health workers, Dawn reported.
According to the FIR, the suspects attacked the polio workers and subsequently called their accomplices, who also tortured the workers. The police team reached the spot after the polio workers dialled a helpline.
The suspects then attacked the police personnel as well. Later, the police lodged a case against them.
Similarly, the Shahdara police lodged a case against the parents of some children for allegedly harassing the female polio workers who were visiting the area to vaccinate the children.
–IANS
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