PESHAWAR, Dec 30: A worker of polio administering team was killed and two others, including woman, were injured here on Saturday morning when unidentified miscreant opened fire at them here in Matani Civil Hospital adjacent to FR Kohat, police officials told FRC.
According to police official Fazal Wahid, Station House Officer, the team was busy in managing oral immunization drops to kids in the said hospital when unidentified men entered and opened fire at the team resulting the killing of Zahir Gul, in-charge of the team, while injuring two others including an employee of the hospital, Niqab Gul, and a local Nusrat Bibi, who had brought her child for vaccination.
Miscreants fled from the scene of the incident successfully after the attack.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had officially banned polio vaccination last year in reaction to drone strikes in FATA though it was termed against Islam (Haram) by some militants group.
It is worth mentioning that some reputable clerics of Deobandi sect, respectable to Taliban, including Mufti Rafi Usmani, Mufti Taqi Usmani, Maulana Hassan Jan Shaheed and other have given Fatwa, decree, in favor of polio vaccination and had termed it in-line with Islamic injunctions.
Seventeen polio immunization workers including women and police have so far been killed during duty hours and as many were injured.
At least 72 polio virus cases have been reported this year across the country showing an increase with respect to the previous year 2012, as World Health Organization (WHO) has reported 24 percent increase in polio cases this year.
Its’ worth to be added here that government of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, in the leadership of Imran Khan, has initiated Polio vaccination campaign last week in Akora Khattak where chief of JUI-S, Maulana Sami-Ul-Haqq who is considered a bridge between government and Taliban, immunized his grandson against Polio virus.
