Farman Bashir Behrani was standing guard in front of a house when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on him.
QUETA:
A police constable was martyred on Tuesday while guarding a polio vaccination team in T&T Colony area in Dera Murad Jamali, Balochistan.
Nasirabad Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Asad Nasar said The express PAkGazette that the incident occurred when the polio team entered a home to administer drops to children. Officer Farman Bashir Behrani was standing guard outside when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on him. He died instantly, while the attackers fled immediately afterwards.
SSP Nasar said police arrived soon after the incident, shifted the body to Dera Murad Jamali Civil Hospital and launched a search operation after cordoning off the area.
Nasirabad Deputy Commissioner Zulfiqar Ali Karar and SSP Nasar visited the hospital soon after the attack. Nasar described the murder as an “act of terrorism” and said police were investigating the matter from all angles.
Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the incident and said the culprits did not deserve any leniency.
The incident highlighted the risks faced by security personnel and health workers during polio vaccination campaigns in the country.
Read more: Three dead and two injured in an armed attack on a vehicle in Quetta
Two days ago, another police officer was killed and four others injured when gunmen opened fire on personnel deployed to protect polio vaccination teams in Hangu in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The attack occurred near Chapri Waziran, within the jurisdiction of Thall police station. The martyred officer was identified as Israrul Haq, a resident of Shangla, who was undergoing an intermediate level police training course.
The incident came as a week-long anti-polio campaign began nationwide on Monday, with the goal of vaccinating more than 45 million children under five. Polio workers, carrying out door-to-door vaccination drives, have frequently been attacked, particularly in KP and Balochistan.
In 2024 alone, at least 20 people were killed and 53 injured during anti-polio operations in the province.
