KHYBER: A police constable was martyred when unidentified terrorists attacked a polio vaccination team in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber district on the first day of the seven-day immunisation campaign which began here on Monday.

Police officials said that constable Abdul Khaliq, a resident of Bazaar-Zakhakhel, was part of the police personnel accompanying the polio vaccination team in Sakhi Pul locality of Jamrud.

It was around 9am when the terrorists on a motorcycle suddenly appeared at Patay Uba locality and opened fire on the team, killing Abdul Khaliq on the spot, the officials said.

They said that while the terrorists escaped, an additional police contingent promptly reached the spot and shifted the body of their colleague to Jamrud hospital.

They said the vaccination campaign continued despite the untoward incident and security of vaccination teams has been further beefed up throughout Khyber district.

Earlier, the District Polio Eradication Commi­ttee (DPEC) headed by dep­uty commissioner Rae Mazhar Iqbal, in a meeting held at the Khyber House, chalked out a comprehensive plan for providing sec­u­r­ity to health teams during the seven-day vaccination campaign while also devising ways to deal with parents refusing to let their children be administ­ered polio drops and those boycotting the campaign.

The meeting was infor­med that 945 health teams have been constituted to vaccinate 208000 children below the age of five.

Informed sources told Dawn that at least 17000 children in seven union councils of Tirah valley would miss the polio drops as health teams have not been given security clearance due to the current security situation in the valley.

Children of these seven union councils in Tirah valley had also missed polio vaccination in December last year on similar grounds.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2025