Maiden assault: Two injured in attack on Quetta polio team

EPI manager says attacks are taking a toll on volunteers’ morale.

QUETTA/ ISLAMABAD: A woman and child were injured on Sunday when anti-polio campaigners were targeted in the Pashtunabad area of Quetta in the first attack of its kind on a polio team in the province.

“An unidentified person threw a hand grenade at a Suzuki van carrying polio workers,” Station House Officer Mohammad Tariq said about the incident that took place in a neighbourhood where a large number of Afghan refugees reside. “The workers inside the van threw back the hand grenade which exploded with a big bang,” he said.

He added that the woman and child were injured when they fell from the van after the explosion. The blast took place when the workers threw back the hand grenade. The injured were taken to the Provincial Sandeman Hospital for treatment.

The polio workers were returning after administering anti-polio drops to children in Pashtunabad when they the assailants attacked. Pashtunabad is home to thousands of Afghan families and recently witnessed an IED attack in which an Afghan student from a religious seminary was killed and 26 were injured.

Dr Rana Safdar, the Expanded Programme on Immunisation’s manager, condemned the incident. “At the federal level there are operational guidelines for security that are shared with the provinces. Now it’s up to them to implement them effectively,” said Safdar, who is also the coordinator of the prime minister’s polio cell.

“All measures are taken for security in areas where there is a high risk to vaccinators. These attacks are a major setback to the drive against polio in Pakistan, and the morale of volunteer workers is taking a serious hit.”

A spokesperson for the World Health Organisation also condemned the targeted attacks on polio workers and police escorts. “Security needs to be enhanced for them to work efficiently,” he said.

According to statistics, the official said that 2013 has witnessed the death of 31 people in incidents targeting polio teams, with 11 of them being police personnel.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2013.