Polio worker killed in attack on team in Bajaur

Published March 18, 2015
Polio worker Ruhullah died on the spot while Arifullah received injuries, Sherpao added. -AFP/File
Polio worker Ruhullah died on the spot while Arifullah received injuries, Sherpao added. -AFP/File

PESHAWAR: Unidentified men attacked a polio team on Wednesday in Bajaur Agency's Nawagai tehsil, killing one worker and leaving another injured.

Assistant Political Agent (APA) Nawagai Fayaz Ali Sherpao said unknown gunmen fired at polio workers Ruhullah and Arifullah as they administered polio drops to children in the Kamangara area of Nawagai tehsil near the Pak-Afghan border.

Polio worker Ruhullah died on the spot while Arifullah received injuries, Sherpao added. The injured worker was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) took responsibility of the killing.

The attack on the polio team today comes just a day after a polio team in Mansehra was attacked. Two lady health workers and a policeman were killed in Tuesday's attack.

The polio team in Mansehra was vaccinating children on the second day of a three-day anti-polio drive in the district when they were attacked.

Know more: Gunmen kill two female polio workers, policeman in Mansehra

Pakistan is one of only three countries where polio remains endemic.

Attempts to eradicate it have been badly hit by militant attacks on immunisation teams that have claimed 76 lives since December 2012.

Militants claim the polio vaccination drive is a front for espionage or a conspiracy to sterilise Muslims.

Last year, the number of polio cases recorded in Pakistan soared to 306, the highest in 14 years.

Opinion

Editorial

Moving forward
Updated 29 Sep, 2023

Moving forward

It is hoped that the ECP followed the set rules diligently while demarcating constituency boundaries.
Pipeline in stasis
Updated 30 Sep, 2023

Pipeline in stasis

If finding dollars to fund the scheme is difficult, alternative currencies can be used.
Playing in India
Updated 29 Sep, 2023

Playing in India

WITH visa issues resolved, and after slight alterations in travel plans, Pakistan’s cricket team finally touched...
Accruing more debt
Updated 28 Sep, 2023

Accruing more debt

We are in midst of the worst, longest economic crisis because of lavish lifestyles of powerful interests.
Israeli normalisation
28 Sep, 2023

Israeli normalisation

OVER the past few weeks, there have been many reports prophesising the impending normalisation of ties between Saudi...
Kandhkot tragedy
28 Sep, 2023

Kandhkot tragedy

THE tragic incident that unfolded yesterday in Sindh’s Kandhkot tehsil, leading to the deaths of at least nine...