Peshawar : A senior doctor, who was in-charge of polio eradication campaign in Pakistan’s northwest Peshawar city, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne Taliban gunmen in the latest attack on immunisation teams in the country. Zakaullah Khan was attacked by the unidentified gunmen after he came out of a mosque after evening prayers.
He was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, police said. A faction of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Anti-polio workers have long been targeted in the country by Islamist groups, including the Taliban, which believes that the polio immunisation drive is a front for espionage or a conspiracy to sterilise Muslims. In April, at least seven policemen were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in two separate attacks during a polio campaign.
Pakistan is one of only two countries – other than Afghanistan – in the world where polio remains endemic.
