A police official, part of a polio vaccination team, sustained serious injuries in a firing incident near Ishaqzai Qila area of Chaman district in Balochistan, Pakistan. The attack occurred while the polio team remained unharmed, as per local media reports. The police officer guarding the team was wounded by unidentified assailants who opened fire on Sunday, leading to the officer being hospitalized for treatment.
Police authorities ensured the safe relocation of the polio team following the attack and deployed additional personnel in the area. A search operation has been launched to apprehend the attackers. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where wild poliovirus is still prevalent. Polio workers in Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, have frequently been targeted in such attacks.
Recent incidents on May 18 in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa saw the deaths of two police personnel escorting polio vaccination teams in separate attacks. Unidentified assailants targeted the polio teams in Tabbai and Dag Qila regions of Salarzai. In another incident in April in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a police constable lost his life and four others were injured during an attack on a law enforcement party providing security for polio teams.
In a tragic event in February, a police officer was killed in Chaman district of Balochistan when unidentified assailants fired upon a police vaccination team.
