Militants kill two polio vaccinators in Pakistan

Suspected militants shot and killed two polio vaccinators at Swabi in northwest Pakistan today, the latest in a string of attacks targeting the government`s vaccination campaign.

Islamabad: Suspected militants shot and killed two polio vaccinators at Swabi in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, the latest in a string of attacks targeting the government`s vaccination campaign. The vaccinators were attacked while they administering polio drops to children in Swabi area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said. This was the second such attack in Swabi. In January, six women and a man working for a NGO involved in the vaccination campaign were shot dead in the district.

Last month, the killing of a female polio vaccinator on the outskirts of Peshawar city had prompted the World Health Organisation to suspend its vaccination campaign. No group claimed responsibility for today`s attack though the Pakistani Taliban banned polio vaccinations in parts of the tribal belt last year, claiming the drive was a cover for espionage. On May 20, suspected militants attacked a team of polio vaccinators in the restive Bajaur tribal region and killed security personnel. In April, a policeman was killed and another injured when suspected militants attacked a team of polio vaccinators in Mardan town of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. In December, eight volunteers involved in a polio vaccination drive were gunned down in a string of attacks in the southern port city of Karachi and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only countries where polio is still endemic. PTI