A team that conducted a validation study for a polio vaccination campaign in Tangir became a further district of diamer, Gilgit-Baltistan, attacked and threatened by armed attacks on Sunday, according to media reports.
The incident, as officials say was linked to the presence of female team members, took place when the team returned after completing his assigned fieldwork.
According to the first information report (FIR), which was submitted at the Jaglot police station, the team had worked in the area for two days and verified vaccination coverage.
When they returned via Ric Bridge around 2 p.m. At 14.45, two armed persons captured their vehicle, issued verbal threats, and accused the team of disrupting the region’s cultural environment by bringing “revealed women from Gilgit.”
One of the attackers allegedly fired against the vehicle and damaged one of its tires before both suspects fled against nearby mountains.
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GB government spokesman Faizullah Faraq clarified that the attack was not linked to resistance to the polio campaign itself, but rather to the public presence of female team members.
“The polio team had entered Tangir without prior coordination. Ideally, the team should have informed the district administration and the police,” he said.
All team members, including Zonal Trainer Bilal, health worker Kainat Hussain, and drivers Adnan, Iqbal and Muhammad Hussain, were unobtrusive. They were quickly moved to a safe place after the attack, according to reports.
GB chief minister Haji Gulbar Khan has ordered police to take immediate action to understand the unidentified attackers. Faraq assured that the polio vaccination campaign would continue as planned, with additional security measures to protect health workers in sensitive areas.
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Previously, the first case of wild poliovirus was reported in diamer. The case, verified by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio -Exposure at the National Institute of Health (NIH), is the eleventh -confirmed case of wild poliovirus in the country so far by 2025.
Last week, a police constable was martyrated and another officer was injured when unidentified attacks opened fire against a polio vaccination team in Nushki, Balochistan. The team performed routine immunization work when the attack took place.
