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 the T&T Colony area of ​​Balochistan’s Dera Murad Jamali.
Nasirabad Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Asad Nasar told Express Pakinomist that the incident happened when the polio team entered a house to administer drops to children. Constable Farman Bashir Behrani was standing guard outside when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on him. He died on the spot, while the attackers fled immediately after.
SSP Nasar said police arrived soon after the incident, shifted the body to Civil Hospital Dera Murad Jamali 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 described the killing as an “act of terrorism” and said police were investigating the case from all angles.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the incident and said the culprits deserved no leniency.
The incident highlighted the risks security and health personnel face during polio vaccination campaigns in the country.
Read more: Three killed, two injured in armed attack on vehicle in Quetta
Two days ago, another police officer was martyred and four others injured when gunmen opened fire on personnel deployed to protect polio vaccination teams in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu.
The attack took place near Chapri Waziran within the jurisdiction of Thall police station. The martyred officer was identified as Israrul Haq, a resident of Shangla, who was pursuing an intermediate level police training course.
The incident came as a week-long anti-polio campaign started nationwide on Monday, aiming to vaccinate over 45 million children under the age of five. Polio workers who carry out door-to-door vaccination have often been targeted, especially in KP and Balochistan.
In 2024 alone, at least 20 people were killed and 53 injured during anti-polio operations in the province.
