Two policemen were martyred and a third was injured on Tuesday when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a police team assigned to protect a polio vaccination campaign in Mohmand district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police and officials said.
The attack took place in the Dag Tamanzai area of Pindiali tehsil, near the Hashim Kor police checkpost, while the policemen were on their way to join a polio team for security duty. Police identified the martyred officers as Constables Zahoor Khan and Arbai Khan, and the injured policeman as Sepoy Sabir Khan, who was taken to hospital for treatment. District Police Officer Raza Muhammad Khan said one attacker was also injured in the incident, and a search operation was under way to find those responsible. No group had immediately claimed responsibility.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack. Naqvi called the firing on personnel deployed on anti-polio duty "intolerable" and paid tribute to the two policemen, saying they had been working for a healthier future for the country.
The attack came on the second day of a sub-national polio vaccination campaign that began on 2 November and runs until 8 November across 97 selected districts. The campaign aims to vaccinate nearly 24 million children under the age of five, and more than 6.68 million children were vaccinated on its first day, according to the National Emergency Operations Centre. Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio remains endemic, and health workers and their police guards have repeatedly been targeted by militant groups opposed to vaccination.
The latest incidents also include a separate case in Tank district, where four polio workers were abducted on Monday. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi took notice of the abduction and directed the authorities to take immediate and effective measures for the workers' safe recovery.
The campaign is under way just days after Pakistan confirmed its eighth polio case of 2026, involving a 13-month-old girl from Khyber district. Officials say the attacks underline the risks faced by vaccination teams, but the drive will continue as planned.
Sources: Dawn (3 November 2026); Geo News (3 November 2026); The Express Tribune (3 November 2026); Arab News Pakistan (3 November 2026); Business Recorder (3 November 2026); Associated Press via The New Indian Express (3 November 2026).
---
ROMAN URDU VERSION:
Mohmand district mein Tuesday ko polio vaccination campaign ki hifazat par mamur police team par na-maloom musallah afraad ne firing kar di, jis se do police ahelkar shaheed aur aik zakhmi ho gaya.
Hamla Pindiali tehsil ke Dag Tamanzai ilaqe mein hua, jab police ahelkar polio team ke saath security duty ke liye ja rahe the. Shaheed ahelkaron ki shanakht Constable Zahoor Khan aur Arbai Khan ke naam se hui hai, jabke zakhmi ahelkar Sepoy Sabir Khan ko hospital muntaqil kar diya gaya hai. Police ke mutabiq aik hamla-awar bhi zakhmi hua aur ilaqe mein search operation jari hai. Kisi group ne abhi tak hamle ki zimmedari qubool nahi ki.
Sadr Asif Ali Zardari aur Wazir-e-Dakhla Mohsin Naqvi ne hamle ki mazammat ki hai. Naqvi ne kaha ke polio duty par mamur ahelkaron par firing na-qabil-e-bardasht hai.
Ye hamla 2 November se 8 November tak jari sub-national polio campaign ke doosre din hua hai, jo 97 districts mein chal rahi hai aur jis ka hadaf taqreeban 24 million bachon ko polio se bachao ke qatrey pilana hai. Pehle din 6.68 million se zyada bachon ko vaccine di gayi. Tank district mein aik alag waqea mein chaar polio workers ko Monday ko aghwa kar liya gaya tha, jin ki baziyabi ke liye Governor Faisal Karim Kundi ne fori iqdamat ki hidayat di hai.
){kind=link}
0 Comments