Gunmen in Pak kill policeman guarding polio eradication team

December 03, 2020 14:36

A police officer assigned to guard a polio immunisation team was killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire at him in northwest Pakistan while he was returning home. The incident happened on Wednesday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Bannu district. Sub Inspector Akhir Zaman was on his way back home after performing his duty when two men on a motorcycle opened fire at him, resulting in his death on the spot. The accused fled the scene.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistan is one of the only three countries, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, that suffers from endemic polio, a virus that can cause paralysis or death.

Immunisation efforts have in the past been hampered by militants. They have previously alleged the immunisation campaigns are a cover for Western spies. Local officials said they had recruited Muslim clerics to promote the immunisations among children after past programmes were met with resistance and even violence by extremists. PTI

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