NORTH WAZIRISTAN: A terrorist attack on a police team escorting polio vaccination workers in South Waziristan’s Azam Warsak area was successfully foiled by local law enforcement agencies on Monday.
According to district police officers, a group of terrorists opened fire on the Station House Officer (SHO) of Azam Warsak Police Station and his team in Kaloosha area while they were on polio duty.
The police force retaliated bravely, engaging the assailants in a fierce gun battle that lasted nearly 30 minutes. One terrorist was killed during the exchange, while the others managed to flee.
Security forces recovered an SMG, a rocket launcher, and two motorcycles from the scene. Authorities identified the deceased terrorist as Afnan, son of Pirzada.
A search of his belongings led to the recovery of two national identity cards, three ATM cards, and a smartphone.
One of the identity cards was found to belong to the slain terrorist, while the other documents were identified as belonging to Constable Imran, a police officer martyred in a previous terror attack before Eid. Constable Imran’s murder case had been registered at the South Waziristan Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station. Following the incident, additional police personnel and an armored personnel carrier (APC) were deployed to the area to safeguard polio teams and conduct a search operation for the fleeing militants.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned terrorist attack on polio team in North Waziristan. He lauded the police for effectively thwarting the terrorists designs.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also strongly condemned the terrorist attack carried out by Khawarij militants on a police team assigned to provide security to an anti-polio vaccination team in South Waziristan. The attack, which was swiftly repelled by the alert and courageous police personnel, failed to cause any harm to the vaccination team or the security staff.
The Interior Minister lauded the efforts of the police, stating, “The Khawarij terrorists’ attempt to sabotage the polio campaign has been foiled by the bravery of our police officers. I salute their courage and commitment to their duty.” He further lauded the force for killing one of the assailants.
“By ensuring the safety of the anti-polio team, our police personnel have not only fulfilled their professional duty but also upheld a crucial national cause,” the minister added.
