Policeman protecting polio workers shot dead in Karak

By Abdullah Zahid.

A policeman escorting a team of polio workers was gunned down by unknown assailants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Karak district today (Tuesday), while a team of polio workers remain unharmed, as the current nationwide campaign against the crippling disease entered the second day.

Inspector General of KP Police, Sanaullah Abbasi, taking notice of the incident, said the policeman’s killers will be arrested soon. He said security was being provided to polio workers and resolved that they would soon make KP a polio-free province.

Polio health workers and law enforcement officials who are tasked with providing security have often been targetted by militants and miscreants.

With 82 cases in 2020, Pakistan is one of the two countries in the world, along with its neighbor Afghanistan, where polio is still endemic.

A five-day polio vaccination campaign kicked off yesterday. The authorities aim to vaccinate 40 million children under the age of five during the drive.

A supplementary dose of Vitamin A will also be administered to the children aged six to 59 months during the campaign to help build general immunity.