Quetta, May 25 (IANS) A police official deployed with the polio vaccination team was seriously injured in a firing incident near Ishaqzai Qila area of Chaman district in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. However, the members of the polio team remained safe, local media reported on Monday.
Police officer guarding the polio team was injured after unidentified assailants opened fire at him on Sunday, according to police, Pakistan’s daily Dawn reported. The injured police personnel was taken to hospital for treatment.
Police officials said that polio team was safely taken to a safe location after the attack and additional police personnel were deployed in the area. A search operation has been initiated in the area and efforts are being made to find the attackers.
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.
On May 18, at least two police personnel escorting polio vaccination teams were killed in separate incidents in Bajaur district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Unidentified assailants attacked the polio vaccination teams in Tabbai and Dag Qila regions of Salarzai, Pakistan-based Geo News reported, citing a senior police official.
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.
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, Dawn reported.
In February, a police officer was killed when unidentified assailants opened fire on a police vaccination team in Chaman district of Balochistan.
–IANS
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