Two on-duty cops martyred

DI KHAN:

Militants immediately unleashed their deadly designs on teams performing their first day of polio vaccination duty in K-P, as two policemen protecting health workers embraced martyrdom, while three terrorists were killed during the same shootout in Upper Orakzai on Tuesday.

On the same day, militants held a polio team hostage in North Waziristan, also stealing the weapons of the policemen deployed for their protection.

As per reports, police officers were assigned to polio duty when the terrorists launched their brazen assault in Upper Orakzai.

One officer was martyred on the spot, while another injured officer, Zamel Shah, bravely continued fighting the terrorists despite his injuries, ultimately embracing martyrdom after eliminating three of the militants.

Police officers Zamel Shah and Abdul Hameed were assigned to protect a polio team in the Badam Malakhel area of Upper Orakzai near the Daboori Police Station. During this time, terrorists suddenly opened fire on the polio team.

The police officers, fully alert to any potential threats, responded promptly. In a fierce exchange of fire, two terrorists were killed, while a third, critically wounded, later succumbed to his injuries.

Abdul Hameed, fighting valiantly, was martyred on the spot, and Zamel Shah, who was being transported to Peshawar for medical treatment, also succumbed to his injuries on the way.

The identified terrorists were Yahya, a local commander of Lashkar-e-Islam, Noor Sadiq, and Umar Khalid. Later, police reinforcements and FC personnel conducted a search operation in the area to apprehend other terrorists.

The funeral prayers for the police martyrs were offered with official honors at the Kalaya Police Lines, attended by DPO Orakzai Nazir Khan, DC Orakzai Irfan Uddin, Orakzai Scouts Commandant Colonel Syed Saadat Hasan Alam, other officials, and local citizens.

IGP Akhtar Hayat Khan praised the police's response against the terrorists who attacked the polio team, stating that those who sacrifice their lives for the country's security are true heroes.

Over in North Waziristan, unknown gunmen held a polio team hostage while they were administering drops in the Mir Ali Subdivision of Shawa. According to sources, the incident took place at Mamit Kot Dispensary, where the assailants took the team captive and seized weapons from three police officers assigned to protect them. After taking the weapons, the suspects fired shots into the air and managed to escape.

In Kohat, police successfully thwarted an attack on a polio team. Armed motorcyclists attempted an assault on a polio team in the Daraywal Banda area. However, timely intervention by police forced the attackers to abandon their motorcycle and mobile phone at the scene as they fled.

Polio case emerges

Meanwhile, another child faces a lifetime of disability after it was determined that he has been infected by polio, raising the total number of cases in the K-P to seven this year.

The National Institute of Health's polio lab confirmed the virus in a 29-month-old girl from Union Council Gandheri in Nowshera district.

Previously, six cases had been reported this year in the province, including two from Kohat and one each from Mohmand, Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, and Lakki Marwat.

This brings the total number of polio cases in K-P to seven for the year and 42 nationwide.