Polio team attacked in Kohat; escorting cop martyred
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Some unknown assailants opened fire on a polio team in Kohat martyring an escorting policeman, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Reportedly, a polio team in Kohat came under the hail of fire on Sunday. As a result, a policeman who was deputed to provide security to the immunization team was martyred.
The cop was shifted to Divisional Headquarters Hospital in critical condition but he succumbed to his injuries. However, other escorting policemen remained unhurt during the attack.
Soon after the incident, a large number of policemen rushed to the spot.
The attack came as the third nationwide anti-polio campaign has been kicked off in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday. In other areas of the country, the drive will be launched on Sept 20 (Monday).
Over 40 million children under five years of age will be administered vaccination drops along with a supplementary dose of Vitamin-A capsule during the campaign.
More than 290,000 Sehat Tahafuz frontline workers are going house to house for vaccination to protect children from lifelong paralysis caused by the poliovirus.
Research also shows approximately 50 percent of all children are Vitamin-A deficient in the country, so a supplementary dose of Vitamin-A will also be included providing protection against various infections and diseases like diarrhoea, pneumonia, measles and night blindness.
On August 2 last, gunmen had shot and killed a police officer assigned to protect a polio vaccination in the town of Kolachi in Dera Ismail Khan.
Officer Dilawar Khan was on his motorcycle, heading to escort polio workers taking part in a nationwide campaign aimed at making Pakistan a polio-free state.
After the attack, the gunmen fled the scene.