Pakistan polio worker shot dead in Quetta

A Pakistani medic gives a polio vaccine to a child in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 10, 2012 Pakistan is one of three countries where polio is still endemic

Related Stories

Gunmen have killed a member of a polio vaccination team in the western Pakistani city of Quetta.

The team were administering polio drops to under-fives on the city outskirts when attackers on a motorcycle opened fire.

One worker was fatally injured and died on the way to hospital. It is not clear who the gunmen were.

The Taliban have issued threats against the polio drive in Pakistan, where polio is still endemic.

In July a doctor who was administering polio vaccines was shot dead in the southern city of Karachi.

Officials say the vaccination programme has been suspended in several areas of Quetta following Tuesday's shooting.

"We are investigating if the dead man had any dispute with the attackers or the shooting was carried out by opponents of the campaign," a senior local official, Tariq Mengal, told AFP news agency.

There has been opposition to such immunisation drives in parts of Pakistan, particularly after a fake CIA vaccination campaign helped to locate Osama Bin Laden in 2011.

Militants have kidnapped and killed foreign NGO workers in the past in an attempt to halt the immunisation drives which they say are part of efforts to spy on them.

Pakistan is one of only three remaining countries where polio is still endemic. The others are Afghanistan and Nigeria.

More on This Story

Related Stories

More Asia stories

RSS

Features & Analysis

  • Medical scan of brain tumourSick art Watch

    The strange beauty of infections under the microscope


  • Beyonce, a US tax form, and Bea ArthurTweets of the week

    Congress, Beyonce's baby and Toronto mayor in 140 characters


  • Cast members from the American cast of  The Office pose with awards given by the Screen Actors GuildClocking out

    How US version of The Office reflected on America - and UK


  • Giuseppe Pesce getting into a police carMost wanted

    What happened when an Italian mafia boss handed himself in


Elsewhere on the BBC

  • MercedesStory of the S-Class

    Mercedes-Benz has been producing the model since 1972. BBC Autos looks back at its history

Programmes

  • The night sky in ChileFast Track Watch

    Stargazing in Chile – visit the best place on earth to see the heavens above

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.