Policeman escorting polio vaccine team martyred in Bannu gun attack

BANNU – A police constable has been martyred in the country’s northwestern region Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa, where a polio vaccination team was attacked in a drive-by shooting.

The latest attack in a series of assaults occurred on Wednesday as banned outfits including TTP and its splinter groups targeted polio teams administering polio drops to children.

Media reports suggest that the incident occurred in the area near Miryan Police Station. The martyred cop has been identified as police constable Kamran Khan who accompanied polio workers for vaccination duty during the recent drive against the contagious virus.

The unidentified attackers escaped from the area following the ambush, while the body of the martyred cop was later shifted to a local media facility for autopsy.

His funeral was later held which was attended by Bannu Commissioner, and senior police officials including DPO.

The recent attack was the second in August as two police personnel deployed on the same duty were martyred in Quetta last week.

Pakistan reports second polio case of 2023

Pakistan has reported another case of wild poliovirus, the second in 2023 despite all-out efforts from government and private organisations. The latest victim to fall prey to the contagious virus is a three-year-old girl in the same northwestern district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where several cases were reported.

The Ministry of National Health Services confirmed that poliovirus has been detected in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, in the second polio case of this year.

Polio is a highly infectious and debilitating disease that is usually spread through contaminated water or food. Invading the nervous system, the disease can cause total paralysis within hours.

The contagious virus thrived in the borderlands between Pakistan and Afghanistan where militants attacked and even killed anti-polio teams.