KARACHI: Unknown gunmen on Monday shot a policeman assigned to provide security to a polio vaccination team in Karachi's Orangi Town area.

Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Tabassum Ali was shot by motorcycle-riding gunmen while polio workers were administering the vaccine to a child inside a house in Banaras Colony in Orangi Town No 4.

The attackers manged to flee from the scene.

ASI Ali was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where his condition was reported as critical.

A huge contingent of police and Rangers personnel arrived at the site of the attack and launched a probe into the incident.

Polio immunisation activities were suspended in various areas of the city following the attack.

Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio remains endemic, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria. Efforts to eradicate it have been seriously hampered by the deadly targeting of vaccination teams in recent years.

Militant groups see vaccination campaigns as a cover for espionage and there are also long running rumours about polio drops causing infertility.