KOHAT/KHAR, May 21: Militants on Tuesday attacked a polio team and destroyed vaccines during an immunisation campaign in Darra Adamkhel area of Frontier Region, Kohat.

Local officials said armed men thrashed health workers at Manikhel village of Darra Adamkhel and warned them against vaccinating children against polio in the area.

They said the incident led to the suspension of the immunisation campaign. Local elders escorted polio team out of the area without administering polio drops to children.

Senior local official Farooq said such incidents had happened in some no-go areas of Darra Adamkhel, including Tor Chapper, Bostikhel, Mazidkhel and adjoining villages.

He said Manikhel was among no-go areas but the administration with the support of local tribal elders ran the immunisation campaign in the area.

The campaign was launched in Darra Adamkhel in Sept 2012 after a gap of four years. It was stopped in the area due to clashes between militants and security forces.

Two polio cases have been reported in these no-go areas during the last three years.

In Bajaur Agency, the anti-polio drive continued for the second day on Tuesday.

The political administration has enhanced security of polio workers after Monday’s attack on a polio team in the border area of Mamond. The attack had left a member of the levies force dead. The decision to increase security of polio workers was made during a meeting in Khar, headquarters of Bajaur Agency.

Political agent Abdul Jabbar Shah, agency surgeon Dr Jehanzeb Dawar, officials of political administration and the donors’ representatives attended the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, Jabbar Shah said the local administration was committed to eradicating polio from the agency and that terrorist attacks could not weaken their resolve.

“Our efforts to free the agency from polio will continue. We will never succumb to the pressure of anti-social elements, whose agenda has been rejected by tribesmen,” he said.

The political agent said the law and order situation in the agency and response of local residents to polio campaign was encouraging but a handful of elements were trying to create problems for it.

The participants decided that two members of Bajaur levies force and three members of local peace committees would be deployed with each polio team, while the security forces would provide protection to them in border areas. The political agent urged the health department officials to provide security training and safety equipment to polio workers.

Meanwhile, several volunteers have dissociated themselves from the current polio campaign after the Monday attack in Mamond tehsil.

Sources in the local health deportment said some volunteers working on daily wage basis had refused to take part in the campaign for security reasons.

However, officials denied it, saying though some volunteers had requested to separate themselves from the current immunisation drive but later agreed to continue with the task.