The latest attack happened on Thursday in the south west\u00a0city of\u00a0Chaman, which borders\u00a0Afghanistan, when\u00a0two female\u00a0vaccination workers were targeted\u00a0as they\u00a0carried out an immunisation programme.<\/span><\/p>\n Nasreen Bibi, 35, was killed instantly, while a 24-year-old woman \u2013 named only as Rashida \u2013 was seriously wounded.<\/span><\/p>\n The attackers are still at large and officials have\u00a0temporarily suspended the anti-polio<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>drive following the incident.<\/span><\/p>\n Vaccine teams are now accompanied by armed guards. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n Rashid Razzaq, an official at the government polio emergency center in provincial capital of Quetta, said: “Two gunmen opened fire on two female polio vaccinators in Sultan Zai village, located about 100km north west of the Baluchistan provincial capital Quetta. Nasreen Bibi 35, died at the spot while Rashida 24 is seriously injured.”<\/span><\/p>\n T<\/span>his latest death is the third this week\u00a0linked with Pakistan’s drive to vaccinate against the virus<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Since the programme began\u00a0on April 23, health workers have been targeted in several attacks in remote areas \u2013 leaving others\u00a0seriously\u00a0wounded.<\/span><\/p>\n Two police officers, who were\u00a0guarding vaccinators as they inoculated children, were shot dead in\u00a0separate incidents on Tuesday and Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n Unidentified gunmen opened fire on constable Zafar Ali Jan as he chaperoned a polio vaccination team\u00a0in the Buner district of northern Pakistan on Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n W<\/span>hile an officer identified as assistant sub-inspector Mr Imran was shot dead in Bannu district on Tuesday. On the same day, another\u00a0health worker was attacked with a sharp-edged weapon in Lahore, officials said.\u00a0No arrests have been made.<\/span><\/p>\n Muhammad Arshad Khan, Buner’s district police officer, said:\u00a0“An official of the special police force has been killed in Buner, a search operation from the law enforcement agencies is underway in the area.<\/span><\/p>\n “Jan was shot in the head and chest, he died at the spot”.<\/span><\/p>\n Polio teams have been given additional security amid serious threats against health workers.<\/span><\/p>\n V<\/span>accinators\u00a0and their guards are frequently targeted in Pakistan<\/strong><\/span>,<\/a> where Islamist militants and hardline\u00a0clerics claim\u00a0government immunisation\u00a0programmes\u00a0are a cover for western spies and a foreign agenda to sterilise Muslim children.<\/span><\/p>\n “Police are\u00a0investigating these cases and the security of the immunisation teams is our primary concern,” said\u00a0Babar Atta, Imran Khan’s special adviser on polio. “We are committed to eradicating\u00a0this\u00a0crippling virus in\u00a0Pakistan.”<\/span><\/p>\n According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan is one of the three remaining countries in the world \u2013 along with\u00a0neighbouring Afghanistan and Nigeria \u2013 where polio is still categorised as an endemic viral infection.<\/span><\/p>\n T<\/span>wo new cases this week brings the total up to eight in 2019, according to End Polio Pakistan.<\/span><\/p>\n Polio vaccines are\u00a0are eyed\u00a0with\u00a0suspicion in Pakistan\u00a0and are often\u00a0the subject\u00a0of misinformation\u00a0\u2013 spread by social media \u2013 that immunisation harms children.<\/span><\/p>\n Last week, more than 25,000 children were rushed to hospital<\/strong><\/span><\/a> as a result of panic in north west Pakistan, following\u00a0the spread of unfounded rumours that a polio vaccine led to fainting and vomiting.<\/span><\/p>\n On Wednesday, police arrested\u00a0Nazar Gul \u2013 along with twelve other men \u2013 over\u00a0a video which\u00a0went viral on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n T<\/span>he footage\u00a0urged Islamic schoolchildren to fake unconsciousness, which\u00a0officials said formed part of\u00a0conspiracy to disrupt the polio vaccination campaign in Peshawar.<\/span><\/p>\n Last month, the office of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan\u00a0urged the country’s\u00a0telecom regulator to take\u00a0action against those spreading misinformation and rumours on social media about the vaccine.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Vaccine-teams-are-now-accompanied-by-armed-guards-768x512.jpg\")
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