BUNER: A constable of the special police force escorting a polio vaccination team was shot dead in the Elai union council of Buner district on Wednesday, the latest attack on efforts to protect children from the crippling and sometimes deadly disease.

The attackers opened fire on constable Zafar Ali Khan in the Ghalo Tangay area when he was accompanying a polio team, said the district police office. Mr Khan died on the spot.

The attack took place in the remote district at a time when rumours created confusion among people in various districts of Khy­ber Pakhtunkhwa, including Peshawar, regarding the quality of the vaccine administered to children in different areas on Monday.

The police and district administration officials shifted the constable’s body to the district headquarters hospital in Daggar. After fulfilling medico-legal formalities, funeral prayers for the deceased were held at the district police lines.

DIG of Malakand Division Saeed Wazir, Deputy Commissioner Shafiullah Khan, District Nazim Dr Obaidullah, political figures, religious leaders and locals attended the funeral.

Read: Rumours fuel resistance to polio vaccines in KP

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2019