Two female polio workers looted at gunpoint
A boy receives polio vaccine drops, during an anti-polio campaign, in a low-income neighborhood as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Karachi
Unknown motorcyclists on Monday looted two polio workers at gunpoint in the Noor Colony area within the City Police Station.
Vaccinator, Shehnaz Akhtar, lodged a complaint with the police stating that while she was returning to the office after vaccinating children along with a co-worker, Nighat Bibi, when two motorcyclists wearing masks intercepted them and snatched jewellery and a ring from her at gunpoint.
After in incident, female polio workers staged a protest outside the deputy commissioner (DC) office and threatened to boycott the vaccination drive if they were not provided with security.
The protesting polio workers called off the protest after the police registered a case of the incident.
Sources said that the vaccinators had not been provided security that led to their being looted in broad daylight.
Sources in the health department said the police were reluctant to register a case of the incident and were delaying it. The police registered the case of the incident after polio workers staged the protest.
Read Five-day nationwide anti-polio drive kicks off
The protesters also demanded the arrest of the suspects at the earliest and provided them with the requisite security.
The city assistant commissioner held talks with the protesters and they called off the protest after he assured them of full security.
Haripur Public Forum Coordinator Musharraf Hazarawi said that unfortunately, the health department and other government departments remained silent over the incident.
He also demanded immediate arrest of the robbers and full protection for the polio workers so that the drive could be carried out successfully in Haripur district with no hindrance.
The third anti-polio drive kicked off in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Friday.
During the campaign, a supplementary dose of Vitamin-A is also being provided as a protection against various infections and diseases such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, measles and night blindness.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio cases persist. The virus has been eradicated in all other countries of the world, attesting to the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2021.