Levies man on polio duty martyred in Bajaur attack

KHAR: A Levies soldier who was providing security to the polio vaccinators was martyred in a firing incident in Badan area in Mamond tehsil in Bajaur tribal district on Monday, official sources said.

The sources said that Levies personnel were returning to their post after escorting polio teams when unidentified gunmen opened fire on them. The Bajaur Levies man who was martyred in the attack was identified as Naib Subedar Sarfaraz. Soon after the incident, the security forces cordoned off the area and started a search operation, but no arrest could be made.

The funeral prayer for the slain cop was held at the Levies Civil Lines in Khar, the headquarters of Bajaur. Bajaur Deputy Commissioner Mahmood Ahmad Khan, assistant commissioners Anwarul Haq and Arif Khan Yousafzai and other officials attended the funeral.

Later, the fallen Levies official was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard with full state honours. Naib Subedar Sarfaraz was the only brother of four sisters. He is survived by his widow and four sons.

The anti-polio campaign is regularly being carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) that have now been merged with the province. The polio workers and the soldiers and cops who provide security to the polio vaccination teams have come under attack in the province on several occasions.