PESHAWAR/QUETTA: Two suspected militant attacks in Pakistan’s volatile western provinces on Wednesday resulted in the killing of a polio worker and an accompanying policeman by unidentified gunmen, while five others were injured in a grenade explosion.
Pakistan has experienced a surge in militant violence, particularly in the restive provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, where the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch separatist insurgents have frequently launched attacks against civilians and security forces.
Amid this rise in violence, Pakistan has intensified its nationwide polio vaccination campaign after 17 cases of the disease were reported this year.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, TTP militants have previously targeted polio vaccination teams in KP, and Baloch separatists have used hand grenades in past assaults.
“The attack on the polio vaccination team happened at 12 PM in the Malasaid area of Salarzai tehsil in Bajaur district,” Muhammad Israr, a police spokesperson in the area, told Arab News. “One polio worker and a policeman were killed when they were going from door to door to administer vaccine to children.”
This was the second attack on a polio team in KP within the last two days. On September 9, a police vehicle escorting vaccination workers was targeted by an improvised explosive device in South Waziristan district, injuring at least 13 people.
Prior to that, in July, two policemen protecting polio vaccination teams were injured in separate incidents by unknown militants in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts in northwest Pakistan.
Similarly, in January, five policemen were killed and 22 others injured in a blast targeting a polio team in the Mamund region of Bajaur district.
Israr said the police were continuing their investigation into the latest attack, adding the funeral prayers for the policeman killed today had been offered at the Khar Police Station.
GRENADE ATTACK
Meanwhile, at least five people were injured in Balochistan’s Turbat district after unidentified men attacked civilians standing outside a bank with a hand grenade.
The province has long grappled with a separatist insurgency, with Baloch militants accusing the central government of exploiting its mineral and gas resources. The Pakistani state denies these allegations, asserting it is working to uplift the region through development initiatives.
Last month, the Baloch Liberation Army, a militant armed faction, launched coordinated attacks in different parts of the province, resulting in over 50 deaths.
The Station House Officer in Turbat, Muhammad Hussain Baloch, told Arab News that the latest grenade attack occurred in front of the state-run National Bank of Pakistan.
“Five people were injured in the attack,” he said. “The police have initiated an investigation to determine the motive behind the attack.”
“When the attack occurred, there was no movement of security forces in the area. Only civilians standing outside the bank were injured,” he added.