There are no reports of injuries or deaths of polio workers. In January, 14 people, including 13 police officers and a paramilitary trooper were killed and 25 others injured when a suicide bomber attacked a government-run polio drive in Quetta.
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Also on Wednesday, the Pakistani army said troops had freed 24 police officers captured by a criminal gang earlier this month in the eastern Punjab province. Officials said the policemen guarding the polio team were from Shahdadkot police training centre and were called to perform security duty for the polio workers.
The attackers fled the scene, and the police have launched a search operation in the area.
A policeman guards a police vehicle after it was attacked by Taliban gunmen while policemen were guarding medical workers administering polio vaccinations in Karachi, Pakistan, April 20, 2016.
Another senior police officer, Feroze Shah, said authorities had no plans to suspend the polio campaign despite the attack. “They laid down their lives to secure the country’s future”, he said.
Meanwhile Chief of Army Staff general Raheel Sharif has telephoned Sindh Police Inspector General Allah Dino Khawaja and expressed deep grief over the tragic killing of policemen. He said the attacks were part of the group’s activities across Pakistan.
Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world – the other being Afghanistan – where polio remains rampant.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility.
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“In response, the men opened fire”.
