PESHAWAR: Motorcycle gunmen opened fire on Tuesday at police escorting a team polio workers in the northwest Pakistankilled two policemen, authorities said.
None of the polio workers were harmed, said Mohammad Imran, a local police official. The four polio workers and their police escort were all on motorbikes.
The attackers fled the scene and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the town GomalIn Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.
The attack came on the second day of Pakistan’s latest anti-polio campaign in the province. Pakistan has recorded 14 new cases of polio since April, all from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The outbreak has dealt a blow to the Muslim nation’s efforts to eradicate the disease that can cause severe paralysis in children.
Pakistan’s anti-polio campaigns are often marked by violence as Islamist militants often target polio teams and the police protecting them, falsely claiming that vaccination campaigns are a negative. Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where polio is endemic. In 2021, Pakistan reported only one case, raising hopes that the country was close to eradicating polio.
None of the polio workers were harmed, said Mohammad Imran, a local police official. The four polio workers and their police escort were all on motorbikes.
The attackers fled the scene and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the town GomalIn Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.
The attack came on the second day of Pakistan’s latest anti-polio campaign in the province. Pakistan has recorded 14 new cases of polio since April, all from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The outbreak has dealt a blow to the Muslim nation’s efforts to eradicate the disease that can cause severe paralysis in children.
Pakistan’s anti-polio campaigns are often marked by violence as Islamist militants often target polio teams and the police protecting them, falsely claiming that vaccination campaigns are a negative. Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where polio is endemic. In 2021, Pakistan reported only one case, raising hopes that the country was close to eradicating polio.
