MOHMAND/BAJAUR: A police official was martyred in Bajaur in an attack on a polio vaccination team on Wedensday.

Police said the attack occurred in the Damadola Serai area. They said the policeman was heading to his post when gunmen on a motorbike opened firing, killing him on the spot. However, the polio team remained unharmed, AFP quoted a police officer as saying.

Police and security forces have launched a search operation in the area to track down the attackers.

A five-day polio vaccination campaign kicked off in four tehsils of Bajaur on Monday, after the previous drive was postponed due to security reasons.

Officials told AFP that the vaccination campaign continued in all other areas of the district.

Authorities in the newly-merged tribal district had decided last year to enhance the security of polio workers after an attack on a polio team in Orakzai tribal district in October.

In September 2024, tribesmen in different areas of Bajaur and Mohmand had announced a boycott of the anti-polio drive, over a delay in the completion of road projects in their localities.

Mohmand attack

Separately, two security personnel were martyred and two others injured in a cross-border attack in Mohmand district.

Police said eight shells were fired from the Afghanistan side, which landed in the border areas of Khwezai and Baizai during the night. As a result, two Frontier Corps men were martyred and two others injured, they added. They said Pakistani security forces also returned fire.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2025