MASTUNG: A police officer has been martyred in an attack on a polio team by armed men on Friday in the rural area of Kali Kariz, a suburb of Mastung district of Balochistan.

The armed men, who opened fire on a group of female workers, killed the police officer assigned to protect the anti-polio team.

The polio team had embarked on their routine vaccination campaign. As per reports, the deceased officer, identified as Constable Shahzad Ahmad Bangalzai, was transported to Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Raisani Hospital. Fortunately, the members of the anti-polio team themselves remained unharmed in the attack.

In the meantime, the police have cordoned off the area, and have initiated a thorough search operation to apprehend the suspects.

Polio, a highly infectious and potentially crippling disease, has been a long-standing health challenge in Pakistan and efforts to eliminate the disease have been ongoing, with vaccination campaigns being a critical part of the strategy.