Four Women Killed in Attacks on WHO Polio Teams in Karachi

Posted on the 18 December 2012 by Azharnadeem

Attacks on World Health Organization’s (WHO) polio teams in Karachi left four women dead and two male polio campaigners injured, police said on Tuesday.

The attacks occurred in the Landhi and Orangi Town areas. Following the attacks, the organization has suspended its polio campaign in the city and the provincial government has been informed about it.

No group has claimed the responsibility of shootings but Taliban, who are active in several parts of Karachi, have repeatedly issued threats against the polio drive.

The attacks on polio teams in Pakistan aren’t new and the militants have kidnapped and killed foreign NGO workers in the past.

In July, the attackers had shot a foreign doctor working on a polio vaccination campaign.

Earlier this year, the Taliban militants in tribal areas had banned the polio vaccination campaigns saying these campaigns are the part to spy on them.

According to a report issued by GPEI earlier this year, Pakistan is one of only three countries alongside Afghanistan and Nigeria where polio is still epidemic.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Health Department has strongly condemned the attacks and termed them cowardly actions.