LAHORE, Pakistan: The residents of an area in Timber Market located on Ravi Road in Lahore attacked polio workers on Thursday while police arrested three of the attackers.
The Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif took notice of the attack on polio workers, and sought a report from the health secretary and district administration.
The chief minister ordered to provide security to polio workers, saying that violence against polio workers will not be tolerated.
The incident took place a day after at least four polio workers including three women were killed and three others injured when unknown assailants opened fire at the team of polio vaccination workers near Eastern Bypass area of Quetta on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday suspended its activities in Balochistan in the aftermath of the killing of four polio workers in Quetta.
“We have suspended all operations in Balochistan”, a source in the WHO said.
The WHO and the United Nations International Children’s Educational Fund (UNICEF) have been assisting the Balochistan government in eradicating polio virus from the province for more than 20 years.
On the other hand, the Inspector General Police Balochistan Muhammad Amlaish Khan has suspended the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Shafqat Amer and Station House Officer (SHO) Sariab Noor Baksh for their failure to prevent the attack on the polio vaccination team on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Balochistan police said.
“An initial investigation launched into the attack shows the incident occurred due to their negligence,” the spokesman said.
