The reported death toll from the blast near girls’ school in Mastung, Balochistan, stands at more than seven with 23 injured, five of whom are reportedly schoolchildren. The bombing struck a polio vaccination campaign that police had been protecting on Friday. According to reports, the blast has been caused by an improvised explosive device attached to a parked motorcycle near the school.
Senior Superintendent of Police Rahmat Ullah confirmed that the target was a police van on its way to provide backup for a polio vaccination team. One policeman and a local shopkeeper were also among those killed, according to senior police officer Abdul Fatah.
Blast near girls’ school stopped polio immunization campaign
This latest attack raises concerns about the safety of health workers in Pakistan. The country has been dealing with a polio resurgence recently. Pakistan has launched the third nationwide polio immunization campaign this week against the backdrop of a rising tide of polio cases, more actively in Balochistan and Sindh. Pakistan along with Afghanistan is the world’s only two countries left where polio is considered endemic.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the killing of children as an “act of brutality.” No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Islamabad frequently holds militant groups using Afghan soil against it for launching attacks from across the border.
Recently, teams carrying out polio vaccinations in armed groups spread conspiracy theory myths about the vaccines. On multiple occasions, these polio vaccination teams faced violence due to the mistaken perception that vaccinations are an agenda of the West. An upsurge of violence from separatist forces has coincided with increasing attacks, including those coming from the Balochistan Liberation Army, which recently gained international notoriety after targeting a Chinese ship near the Karachi port last December.
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Topics #featured #Pakistan
