Two policemen shot dead guarding polio team in Lower Dir

LOWER DIR: Two policemen, deployed on security for polio workers, were killed after unidentified assailants opened fire at them in Lower Dir

The police officers were on duty with a polio team in Lower Dir’s Laal Qila area when unknown gunmen opened fire on the polio team. The deceased police officers were identified as Farman and Mukarram.

READ MORE: WHO DG appreciates Pakistan’s efforts to eradicate polio virus

The police cordoned off the area and kicked off a search operation to nab the assailants who escaped unhurt in the gruesome incident.

Previously, in Punjab, around nineteen million children under the age of five are being administered anti-polio vaccine during a five-day campaign. In Sindh, around eleven million children will be given polio drops in a seven-day campaign.

Similarly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over 6.7 million children and in Baluchistan 2.5 million children are being administered anti-polio drops during a three day drive.

According to the reports, around two hundred sixty five thousand polio workers will take part in the campaign while parliamentarians and people’s representatives at union council level will also participate in it.

READ ALSO: Five-day anti-polio campaign begins across the country

The government has made foolproof security arrangements for security of polio teams. There is an alarming rise in the number of polio cases which has surged to 104 in the country in 2019.

The global polio eradication drive, which began in 1988, is now close to eradicating the crippling disease from the world.

Unfortunately, Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan and Nigeria, affected by polio virus. Nigeria has already marked three years with no new cases and will be certified soon as polio-free country.