QUETTA:
An assigned police officer to protect health workers was martyred Tuesday in the Noshki district in Baluchistan after unidentified assailants opened fire against a polyomyelitis vaccination equipment.
The murdered officer, identified as Waheed Ahmed, son of Muhammad Hashim and resident of Jamalabad, Noshki, was part of the security detail deployed to safeguard polyomyelitis workers who administer oral vaccines to children under the ongoing national immunization campaign.
According to security officials, the attackers fled the scene immediately after the ambush. The law enforcement agencies launched a search operation in the area, while Forensic teams gathered evidence from the site.
The attack occurred during a polio eradication campaign throughout the country, one of several coordinated campaigns in the provinces of Pakistan.
According to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), the Baluchistan campaign aims to vaccinate 2.6 million children under five years old, as part of Pakistan’s broader effort to eliminate poliovirus. Baluchistan government spokesman Shahid Rind, strongly condemned the attack, describing it as a deliberate attempt to undermine a critical public health initiative.
“Such cowardly acts are a direct attack on our mission to protect children from a paralyzing disease. The sacrifice of this brave police officer will not go in vain,” he said.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack on the Polyomyelitis team in Noshki.
In a message, the president paid tribute to the dedication and courage of polyomyelitis workers.
In a separate statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack and extended the condolences and sympathies sincere to the martyrdos family.
