PESHAWAR: Two policemen who had been deployed on security of health workers were killed on Wednesday by unidentified armed assailants during the ongoing anti-polio vaccination campaign in district Mardan.

The martyred policemen were identified as Syed Raza Ali Shah and Shakir, residents of Syedan tehsil and Mardan.

The bodies of the policemen were shifted to a nearby hospital, said DSP Adnan Azam Khan.

A heavy contingent of police reached the area after the attack and cordoned it off.

A search operation was also launched to apprehend the attacker.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday’s killings.

Earlier this year, a security officer was martyred in a gun attack on a polio team in Karak.

Vaccination campaigns have faced stubborn resistance for years in the country, with many refusing to have their children inoculated because of “misinformation” and “conspiracy theories”.

But as Pakistan tries to reach its goal of eliminating polio from its territory, a new challenge has emerged in the form of a growing global movement against vaccinations.

The phenomenon has attracted adherents worldwide, fueled by medically baseless claims and proliferated by social media resulting in a resurgence of once-eradicated, highly contagious diseases.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021