In three separate incidents of attacks on polio vaccination teams, four policemen on escort duty were killed in Lakki Marwat, Tank and Orkazai districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan on October 29 and 30. Two policemen, Constables Abdul Samad and Zamal Badshah, were killed while they were escorting polio vaccinators in Mullakhel Dabori area of the Orakzai tribal district on second day of the nationwide immunisation campaign, according to the police.
Three attackers were shot dead, and their accomplice was captured in injured condition, after they targeted these police personnel escorting the polio vaccinators. This happened after a Frontier Corps (FC) team, along with a police contingent, reached the area after the incident and engaged the attackers. The incident had occurred late on Tuesday in a remote area.
In North Waziristan, three policemen escorting polio teams were taken hostage at gunpoint and deprived of their official weapons before being released, sources said. They said the police personnel were on duty with polio teams at Mamait Kot dispensary in Shewa tehsil of Mirali subdivision where armed men arrived and took away their guns.
In Lakki Marwat, an official of Special Branch police was martyred in a gun attack near Kotka Sher Khan area. Police constable Arifullah was heading to work on a motorcycle when assailants sprayed him with bullets. After the attack, the assailants fled while a large police contingent reached there and launched a search in the area.
Another police constable was martyred in a hit-and-run raid at DHQ hospital in Tank. Police spokesman said police constable Nizamuddin of Bara Khel was on his duty at DHQ hospital, Tank, when armed militants opened fire on him and sped away. However, in Upper South Waziristan, security forces repulsed two militant attacks on Mamikhel FC post.
In Kohat district, too, a polio team came under attack on October 29, evening but timely retaliation by police guarding the polio team forced the attacker to flee in Darre Wal Banda area. A strong police contingent, led by a senior officer, later reached the scene and launched a search operation to arrest the culprits. Sources said three suspects were picked up and being interrogated for their alleged links to the attackers.
A police spokesman said three lady health workers were moving from home to home to administer polio drops to the children when they were attacked from roadside. In a swift response, police guard opened fire at the attackers forcing them to escape. He said the lady health workers remained unharmed in the firing.
In another attack, which was also successfully repulsed by the security forces, one FC soldier sustained injuries and shifted to a nearby military hospital in Peshawar.
Last month (in September), more than 100 police personnel who provided security for polio vaccination teams in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district had gone on a strike after a string of deadly militant attacks. Police officers who are routinely deployed to protect polio workers going door-to-door frequently come under attack by militants waging a war against security forces.
Since the launch of the latest vaccination drive last month, several attacks have been carried out on vaccinators and policemen accompanying them. There has been a sudden spurt in these attacks during the last one week. Incidentally, a nationwide polio immunisation campaign was started in Pakistan after over 40 new polio cases were reported.
