Unidentified armed men abducted three health workers—identified as Mir Janan, Ikram, and Khanzala—during an anti-polio campaign in the Sorghar area of Tank district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The vaccination team was carrying out a door-to-door drive when they were intercepted and taken by unknown assailants.
Police and security personnel have established blockades across the region and launched search operations to safely rescue the workers.
Three Polio Workers Abducted During Vaccination Campaign In NW Pakistan
Unidentified armed men kidnap three health workers during an ongoing door-to-door immunization drive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Tank district
Summary
Three polio vaccination workers were abducted by unidentified armed men during an ongoing immunisation campaign in northwestern Pakistan, police said on Tuesday.
The gunmen took the three workers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district to an undisclosed location after abducting them. The abducted workers were identified as Mir Janan, Ikram and Khanzala, police added.
The Tank district administration confirmed the abduction, saying that three polio workers had been taken away by unidentified armed men from the Sorghar area.
The latest incident comes amid a series of abductions and attacks targeting polio vaccination teams in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
On November 2, four polio workers were abducted by unidentified armed men from Tank district's Sheikh Attar area, while two other vaccinators kidnapped from Azam Warsak in Lower South Waziristan were subsequently released.
On November 4, a polio campaign supervisor, Jalil Khan, was abducted from the Chapri area of Jamrud in Khyber district.
In a separate attack, in Mohmand district on November 3, two policemen escorting a polio vaccination team were killed, and another was injured by unidentified gunmen.
The recurring incidents have raised serious concerns over the security of frontline health workers engaged in the nationwide campaign to eradicate polio.
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