(MENAFN- Tribal News Network) SWABI: Two women polio workers were shot dead by unidentified miscreants in Swabi on Wednesday.
Police said female polio workers Shakeela and Ghuncha Gul were performing duty in Parmoli Mir Ali Lara area on Wednesday when unidentified armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on them. Shakeela died on the spot, while Ghuncha Gul succumbed to her injuries during treatment at Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar.
No banned outfit has claimed responsibility of the attack on polio workers, but militants opposed to polio vaccination claimed such attacks in the past.
Police said the assailants escaped after the attack. Police are conducing raids in different areas to arrest the culprits. A case of the incident has been filed with Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Mardan and clauses of terrorism have also been included.
Chief Minister Mehmood Khan took notice of the incident and sought report from the police chief. He has ordered strict action against the culprits.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the work which have failed to fully eradicate polio due to refusal of some parents to cooperate with the vaccination teams and attacks on the vaccination teams by militants. Several attacks have been made on polio workers in Pakistan, particularly in KP, recently, which dented the vaccination efforts.
On December 19, 2019, a suicide bomber aiming to target a polio vaccination team exploded himself in Serai Naurang area of Lakki Marwat, but the vaccination team remained safe.
The suicide blast in Lakki Marwat happened a day after two police personnel appointed for providing security to vaccination teams during the anti-polio campaign in Lower Dir were shot dead. Police said two constables Mukarram and Farmanullah were going for duty in the morning when unknown armed men opened fire on them near Markhani Lal Qala, leaving them dead on the spot.
On December 09, two people, including a lady health worker were killed in a firing incident in Bannu. Police said the lady health worker was going for a polio vaccination campaign when she was targeted by unknown armed men. She was on duty at the camp for temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) in Bakakhel area of Bannu.
MENAFN3001202001890000ID1099626033
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.