2 policemen escorting polio team martyred in Quetta

Two policemen escorting a polio vaccination team in Quetta were martyred on Tuesday.

Unidentified armed men opened fire on policemen escorting a polio vaccination team in Quetta’s Nawa Killi area, police said.

Zarghoonabad Station House Officer (SHO) Asif Marwat said that members of the polio team did not sustain any injuries in the attack but added that the polio campaign in Nawa Killi and its surrounding areas had been suspended.

The deceased have been identified as Constable Shaukat Ali and Syed Muhammad.

The attack comes on the first day of a week-long campaign that kicked off to administer the polio vaccination to approximately 2.6 million children under five years of age in the province of Balochistan.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo taking notice of the incident, has sought a report on the attack from the concerned officials.

CM Baluchistan termed the incident a conspiracy against the healthy future of the nation’s children.

“The negative propaganda against the polio campaign and the malicious intentions of the anti-state elements will be thwarted,” he said as he called for bringing the perpetrators under the law.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, in a statement, condemned the incident which he called a “terrorist attack” on the polio team in Quetta.

He also expressed grief and sorrow over the deaths of the two policemen.

FM Bilawal said that elements involved in endangering the health of the nation’s children would be dealt with with an iron fist and added that the perpetrators of the attack would soon be behind bars. 

“Authorities concerned should ensure foolproof security of polio teams, The people should fully cooperate with polio workers,” he said.