Two more polio cases surface in K-P

CTD arrests two attackers allegedly involved in the killing of two policemen providing security to a polio team

PESHAWAR: Two new polio cases have surfaced in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts. A 15-month-old boy in Tank and a 17-month-old girl in Bannu have been infected by the crippling virus. It is being said that the children were not administered anti-polio drops.

According to the provincial Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), the National Institute of Health Islamabad has confirmed the presence of polio in stool samples of the two children.

“With the addition of these two cases, the total number of polio cases in the province have risen to 115 this year,” the centre stated on Friday.

The province has been on top of the list of polio cases this year, especially Lakki Marwat and Bannu. Twenty-five cases have been reported in Bannu and 27 in Lakki Marwat.

EOC coordinator Abdul Basit said, “The main reason behind the rise in polio cases is refusal of parents to administer vaccine to their children.”

The coordinator urged parents and all sections of society to cooperate with the polio teams in order to secure a bright future for their children.

Two attackers held

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Friday arrested two attackers who were allegedly involved in the killing of two policemen providing security to a polio team in Lower Dir.

According to details, the CTD conducted an intelligence-based operation in the Markani Maidan area of Lower Dir and arrested Osama Saeed and Hameedullah who had been allegedly involved in the killing of two policemen escorting a polio team in the area. The weapon used to commit the crime as well as explosives were also recovered from their possession, the CTD officials said.

The two policemen had embraced martyrdom on December 18. (With additional input from app)