KARAK: A police officer escorting a polio vaccination team was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak district today (Tuesday).
According to details, the slain officer was providing security to a team of polio health workers, who remain unharmed. The attack took place at 10:10 am in the area of Latumbar, about 20km west of Karak town.
Karak’s District Police Officer (DPO) Irfanullah has informed that a search operation had been launched in the area to catch the culprits. He added the polio vaccination drive — which began on Monday — had not been halted after the incident.
Meanwhile, KP Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sanaullah Abbasi also took notice of the incident and said that the official’s killers will be caught soon. “The martyrdom of police official is proof that security is being provided,” he added.
Abbasi said that there were some people who were against polio vaccination but “they would be rooted out soon.” Last year, Karak and its adjoining districts saw 15 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s 22 cases of polio, according to official data.
Polio health workers and law enforcement officials who are tasked with providing security have often been targetted by militants and miscreants. Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two remaining countries in the world where polio is endemic.
A five-day polio vaccination campaign started yesterday, during which over 40 million children under the age of five will be vaccinated across the country. A supplementary dose of Vitamin A drops will also be administered to the children aged six to 59 months.
