Police van targeted: Six guards of vaccinators killed in Charsadda

12-year-old boy also died when a bomb went off.

CHARSADDA:

A day after two deadly attacks on polio vaccinators in Karachi and Mansehra, seven people — six policemen and a child — were killed in a remote controlled bomb attack on a van taking police to guard vaccination teams in Charsadda.

Attacks on vaccinators and threats of violence have badly affected efforts to stamp out the crippling disease in Pakistan, one of only three countries where it remains endemic.

The van was carrying personnel from the Police Line and Sardehri police station to different points from where they were to escort polio vaccination teams, SHO Hassan Khan told The Express Tribune.

“When the van was driving past a private school in Sardehri bazaar, a bomb strapped to a bicycle was remotely triggered,” he added. As a result, six police personnel and a passerby were killed on the spot. The van of the same police station was also attacked during the previous vaccination campaign.

The slain police personnel were identified as Head Constable Khwaja Muhammad, Constables Kashif, Gul Shah, Wisal and Ikram and Driver Azam Khan. The dead child was identified as 12-year-old Adnan Khan, who worked at a local auto workshop.



Shafiullah, the district police officer (DPO) of Charsadda, also confirmed the attack and casualties.

Muhammad Khan Afridi, the medical superintendent of the District Headquarters Hospital Charsadda, told The Express Tribune that seven bodies and 13 injured were brought to his hospital. However, two of the injured – police officials Faridullah and Haseeb Jan – were referred to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar due to their precarious condition, he added.

Karamat Khan, who is in charge of the local Bomb Disposal Unit, said the bomb weighed four kilograms which was remotely detonated through a cellphone. Ball bearings were used in the device to cause maximum casualties, he added.

Soon after the attack, police cordoned off the area and mounted a search operation which continued late into the night. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Charsadda has witnessed similar attacks in the past. Personnel of the same Sardehri police station were targeted with a bomb in the previous vaccination campaign. Luckily, no one was killed in that attack.

The funeral of the slain police personnel was held at the Police Lines, Charsadda. Local lawmaker of JUI-F Maulana Gauhar Shah led the funeral prayers which were also attended by Qaumi Wattan Party leader Sikandar Sherpao and senior police officials.

It was the third deadly attack on polio vaccinators and police officials escorting them during the past two days. Three vaccinators – two young mothers and their male colleague – were killed in a gun attack in Karachi’s Qayyumabad neighbourhood on Tuesday – the day when a fieldworker, a schoolteacher, was also shot dead in Oghi tehsil of Mansehra district.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak condemned the Charsadda assault in strong words. He announced a financial assistance of Rs3 million each for the six slain police personnel, Rs100,000 each for the injured personnel, Rs500,000 for the slain student and Rs200,000 each for the civilian injured people. He also directed the district administration for early payment of the cash assistance.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2014.