Cop deployed on anti-polio team's security shot dead in Kohat

K-P CM says those who fired on polio team enemies of 'our children', province determined to eradicate virus

KOHAT:

A policeman deployed for the security of the anti-polio team was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Kohat on Sunday.

According to Express News, unidentified individuals opened fire on an anti-polio team in Dhal Behzadi district of ​​Kohat and fled.

Police personnel and rescue volunteers rushed to the location as soon as the incident was reported.

The body of the deceased cop was shifted to a nearby hospital and handed over to the next of kin.

The provincial police have launched a search operation to nab the accused after gathering evidence.

Following the incident, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan offered condolences over the death of the policeman and expressed his heartfelt sympathy to the family.

The police were directed by the chief minister to take the necessary steps for the immediate arrest of those involved in the crime.

"Those who fired on the polio team are the enemies of our children. The perpetrators of the incident cannot escape the clutches of the law,” the minister said, adding that incidents such as this will not dampen the morale of the polio vaccination teams.

Read At least eight killed, 10 injured in firing at funeral in KP

“The provincial government is committed to eradicating the polio virus from the province,” he maintained.

Volunteers and police personnel involved in the anti-polio campaign across the country and in K-P, in particular, are being targeted by militants.

Earlier this year two policemen were gunned down while on polio duty in the Mardan district of K-P.

The two policemen were returning from polio security duty at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon when they were attacked by unidentified terrorists. District Police Officer (DPO) Dr Zahid informed that both had been shot in the head; soon after the attack a manhunt had been launched in the area.

Prior to this, two polio workers were gunned down in the line of duty in Swabi. While one of the women workers died immediately from the bullet wounds she sustained, the other succumbed to her injuries later in a hospital in Peshawar.