Two female polio workers, cop shot dead in Mansehra

MANSEHRA: Two female anti-polio campaign workers and a policeman were killed in the Danna area of the district on Tuesday, police said.
“Three people, including two female polio workers and a policeman, were gunned down by terrorists in the Danna area,” said Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Hazara Range, while speaking to reporters.
He said the police had launched a search operation in the area after the incident, but no arrest could be made.Lady Health Workers (LHWs) Sitara Gul and Kaneez Nargis and policeman Muhammad Mushtaq, who was guarding them, came under attack by unidentified gunmen while administering oral anti-polio vaccine to the children in Danna.
Sitara Gul and Muhammad Mushtaq died on the spot while Kaneez Nargis succumbed to her injuries at the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital in Mansehra city.Sources in the health department said that the female health workers were shot in their eyes.
The incident took place on the second day of the three-day anti-polio drive in the district.A large number of people, family members and officials of the health department, mostly LHWs, rushed to the hospital. They strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the workers.
The family members of Sitara Gul, a mother of four, and Kaneez Nargis, who had three children, were in distress as they reached the hospital. They wept at their loss.Meanwhile, president Lady Health Workers Association, Mansehra chapter, Farzana Iqbal, who was present along with other LHWs at the hospital, condemned the attack.
“We will not boycott the anti-polio drive,” she vowed. She announced that LHWs would observe a three-day mourning and continue the work afterwards. “We want to make it clear that such attacks cannot dampen our spirits. We will continue to make efforts to eradicate the crippling disease,” she said.
Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak also condemned the incident. In a statement, he offered condolences on the death of the LHWs and the police constable and expressed his heartfelt sympathies with members of the bereaved families. He sought a report on the incident and directed the district administration of Mansehra to enhance security for the anti-polio teams.