KHAR: Gunmen attacked a polio vaccination team in part of Pakistan’s restive tribal regions yesterday, killing a policeman who was providing security, officials said.
The attackers opened fire as the team was going to administer polio drops in Kalam town in Bajaur district, one of the seven tribal areas along the Afghanistan border, local administration official Suhail Ahmed Khan said.
“One tribal police official, who had been escorting the team, died in the attack,” he said.
There was no immediate report of any other casualties, he said, adding that the attackers managed to escape. A security official also confirmed the death.
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only countries where polio is endemic. Polio cases in Pakistan hit 198 in 2011, the highest figure for more than a decade and the most of any country in the world, according to the UN.
Kalam is barely two kilometres from the Afghan border. Pakistan’s tribal areas are a haven for Taliban and Al Qaeda linked militants.
Health officials said the campaign involved some 624 teams working to inoculate 223,570 children under five years of age against the disease in Bajaur.
AFP
