Home Latest News Polio Worker Killed in Khyber Agency

Polio Worker Killed in Khyber Agency

by Nazar Ul Islam
File Photo. A. Majeed—AFP

File Photo. A. Majeed—AFP

Gunmen told women and children to leave the clinic before shooting the health official.

Unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle fatally shot a health worker administering polio vaccinations in Khyber Agency on Saturday morning.

“We have received the body of a person killed while administering polio drops in the Jamrud subdivision of Khyber Agency,” confirmed Dr. Sameen Shinwari, the senior health officer in the tribal district. “Two gunmen carrying klashnikovs entered a Basic Health Unit in the Ghundi area while the health worker was administering polio drops to children,” said Dr. Shinwari. The unidentified gunmen told the women and children to leave and “killed the technician on the spot,” he added. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

Earlier this week, several health workers had boycotted polio vaccinations to protest the killing of a worker who was killed in the same area on Dec. 13 while administering polio vaccinations. After Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan pledged to personally lead anti-polio efforts, the Pakistani Taliban threatened him, warning of dire consequences if he continued to support polio vaccinations.

Polio remains endemic in Pakistan, which recorded 72 cases of the disease this year, compared to 58 for all of 2012, according to the World Health Organization.

Related Articles

Leave a Comment