Farman Bashir Behrani was standing guard outside a house when gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on him.
QUETTA:
A police constable was martyred on Tuesday while guarding a polio vaccination team in T&T Colony area of Dera Murad Jamali in Balochistan.
Nasirabad Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Asad Nasar said The Express PK Press Club that the incident occurred when the polio team entered a house to administer drops to children. Officer Farman Bashir Behrani was standing guard outside when gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on him. He died instantly, while the attackers fled immediately afterwards.
SSP Nasar said police arrived soon after the incident, shifted the body to Dera Murad Jamali Civil Hospital and launched a search operation after cordoning off the area.
Nasirabad Deputy Commissioner Zulfiqar Ali Karar and SSP Nasar visited the hospital soon after the attack. Nasar called the killing an “act of terrorism” and said police were investigating the case from all angles.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the incident, saying the culprits did not deserve any leniency.
The incident highlighted the risks faced by security personnel and health workers during polio vaccination campaigns in the country.
Learn more: Three killed, two injured in armed attack on vehicle in Quetta
Two days ago, another police officer was killed and four others injured when gunmen opened fire on personnel deployed to protect polio vaccination teams in Hangu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The attack took place near Chapri Waziran in the jurisdiction of Thall police station. The martyred police officer was identified as Israrul Haq, a resident of Shangla, who was undergoing mid-level police training.
The incident came as a week-long anti-polio campaign began across the country on Monday, aiming to vaccinate more than 45 million children under the age of five. Polio workers, who conduct door-to-door vaccination campaigns, have often been targeted, particularly in KP and Balochistan.
In 2024 alone, at least 20 people were killed and 53 injured during anti-polio operations in the province.
