Polio team supervisor abducted during vaccination drive in K-P's Jamrud

DPO says Jalil Khan picked up by unidentified armed men as recovery efforts underway

PESHAWAR:

A polio campaign team supervisor, identified as Jalil Khan, was abducted by unidentified armed men from the Chapri area of Jamrud in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) during the ongoing seven-day polio vaccination campaign, District Police Officer (DPO) Waqar Ahmad said on Wednesday.

According to the DPO, the armed men took Khan to an undisclosed location. A heavy contingent of police was dispatched to the area following the incident, while blockades were set up on key routes in an effort to recover the abducted supervisor, he said.

A day earlier, two policemen were martyred, and another was injured when unidentified armed men attacked a polio vaccination team in K-P's Mohmand district. One terrorist was also injured in the incident.

Earlier in the week, four polio workers were abducted by unidentified armed men after being subjected to gunfire in K-P's Tank district, while two other members of a polio vaccination team, who had been kidnapped in Lower South Waziristan, were subsequently released.

Read: Polio protection

The incident in Tank occurred in the village of Jious, located in the Sheikh Attar union council, where unidentified armed men abducted four polio workers. The gunmen reportedly took all four workers to an undisclosed location.

In a separate incident, two members of a polio vaccination team were abducted by armed men in the Azam Warsak area of Lower South Waziristan. Sources said armed men affiliated with the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were allegedly involved in the kidnapping. However, both polio workers were later released.

The incidents came amid a special anti-polio campaign launched on November 2 in 97 selected districts across the country. According to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) for Polio Eradication, the campaign will continue until November 8.

NEOC confirmed Pakistan’s seventh polio case of the year, reported from Khyber district of K-P. The affected child was a 13-month-old girl belonging to Jan Baz Union Council in Bara tehsil, the NEOC said. This was the second polio case reported from Khyber district this year and the sixth from K-P.