Gunmen shot and killed two policemen deployed on security detail for polio vaccinators in south-western Pakistan on Tuesday in another attack that has raised fears of a surge in violence.
The policemen were killed in Quetta, the provincial capital of the country’s most volatile Balochistan province, Asif Nawaz, a local police officer, told dpa.
The attack took place on the first day of a sub-national campaign to vaccinate millions of children against polio.
According to the Health Ministry, the campaign will target over 7.98 million children under five in 61 selected districts of the country.
The campaign would cover 2.59 million children under the age of five in 35 districts of Balochistan.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack that took place days after a suicide bombing at a political rally in north-western Pakistan claimed dozens of lives.
The Islamic State militant group had claimed responsibility for Sunday’s suicide attack.
KWSG reiterates commitment to eradication of polio, assures of improved primary health care
Militants linked with al-Qaeda often attacked health workers.
Dozens of vaccine handlers and security officials had been killed by Taliban militants in the past.
The militants accused the health workers of acting as spies and claim the polio vaccine was intended to make Muslim children sterile.
Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan were among the few countries in the world where new polio cases still surfaced
