Four 'terrorists' killed in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Jul 03, 2022
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], July 3 : Four people, whom Pakistani security officials called "terrorists" were killed in the North Waziristan district, media reported on Sunday.
Citing official sources, a Pakistani newspaper reported that security forces killed four "terrorists" in two separate gun battles in North Waziristan district, where a polio worker was wounded in an attack.
Three soldiers were also injured in another incident in the Khyber district on Saturday.
Earlier unidentified armed men opened fire at polio workers in Pakistan's Mir Ali Tehsil leaving another vaccinator severely injured. A police report stated that Sher Shah was attacked in the TT Madakhel area.
Pakistan is one of two countries, together with Afghanistan, where polio is still endemic, though cases numbers have dropped drastically in recent years.
Pakistani officials reported an eighth wild poliovirus case of 2022 on June 3. This most recent case is a 20-month-old boy paralyzed by wild polio.
Polio transmission is highly active in certain core districts of Pakistan, including Karachi (Sindh), Peshawar (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), and the Quetta block in Balochistan. Polio cases have also been identified in northern Sindh and Southern Punjab.
A large proportion of cases are among Pashto-speaking populations.
The country has failed to eliminate polio which reflects the acute lack of commitment and obligation on the part of the government and society toward saving children from the menace of this devastating disease.
The problem is rooted in financial and organizational deficits, as well as active conflict and insecurity, which has caused the persistent failure of effective immunization campaigns in the country.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have faced significant security challenges along the border, including targeted attacks on polio workers and security guards and an absolute ban on polio immunization in certain areas.
Diffidence in the region is often listed as a significant hindrance to polio eradication, reported Global Start View.
Many polio workers and security personnel have lost their lives in the past years during polio vaccination campaigns, and such incidents have been one of the major reasons that polio is still endemic in Pakistan.
