At least five police officers lost their lives in Pakistan. Nearly two dozen others were wounded when an explosive device targeted their vehicle during a polio vaccination drive in the Bajaur tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan. The incident occurred as Pakistan commenced its latest round of the polio vaccination campaign.
#Pakistan #Bajaur #KhyberPakhtunkhwa #PakistanTragedy #PolioDriveAttack
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#Pakistan #Bajaur #KhyberPakhtunkhwa #PakistanTragedy #PolioDriveAttack
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NewsTranscript
00:00 In a devastating attack, at least five police officers lost their lives in Pakistan's Khyber
00:13 Pakhtunkhwa province.
00:14 Nearly two dozen others were wounded when an explosive device targeted their vehicle
00:19 during a polio vaccination drive in the Bajor tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province,
00:24 bordering Afghanistan.
00:26 The incident occurred as Pakistan commenced its latest round of the polio vaccination
00:31 campaign.
00:32 A spokesperson for the provincial rescue services, Bilal Faizi, shared details on the incident.
00:39 He stated that the blast occurred early in the morning when the police team embarked
00:44 on the polio vaccination drive.
00:46 Most of the injured have been transported to a local hospital in Bajor, while critically
00:51 wounded patients have been shifted to the provincial capital Peshawar.
00:56 The blast comes with no immediate claim of responsibility.
00:58 However, in recent years, the Pakistan Taliban has targeted both polio vaccination workers
01:05 and security officials, contributing to resistance against the vaccination campaign.
01:11 It's important to note that the region has faced challenges in the past due to misinformation
01:16 and suspicions surrounding the polio immunisation drive.
01:20 Opposition escalated after a fake vaccination drive organised by the CIA in 2011 to trap
01:26 Osama bin Laden.
01:28 Additionally, religious leaders in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan spread
01:33 misinformation claiming the vaccine contained forbidden substances in Islam, such as traces
01:38 of pork and alcohol.
01:40 As of now, Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries yet to be declared
01:45 free of the wild poliovirus type 1 or WPV1.
01:49 According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a country must demonstrate an
01:54 absence of WPV1 transmission for at least three consecutive years to achieve this designation.
02:00 Despite challenges, there has been progress in Pakistan with notable decrease in reported
02:05 polio cases.
02:06 In 2023, six cases were reported, a significant improvement from the 20 cases reported in
02:12 2022.
02:13 The tragic incident targeting the polio vaccination team adds to a series of violent events in
02:19 Pakistan.
02:20 According to data compiled by the Pakistan Institute of Conflict and Security Studies,
02:25 there was a staggering 70% increase in violent attacks in 2023, with more than 600 incidents
02:32 leading to the loss of over 950 lives.
02:58 (upbeat music)