Barbarity continues unabated as militants kill polio workers in Quetta, Pakistan.
QUETTA — Unidentified militants killed four polio workers, including three women and wounded three others, in the eastern bypass locality of Quetta city on Wednesday.
Eyewitness accounts say the vehicle of polio campaigners was intercepted by militants and masked men opened fire on the vehicle indiscriminately.
According to the account of a survivor, the government had not provided any security to the polio team. “A policeman was standing not far from our vehicle when it was attacked. We called him for help but he remained indifferent,” said a wounded female worker who is hospitalized in Sandeman Provincial Hospital in Quetta.
In order to absolve themselves of the blame, police officials in Quetta claimed that the polio workers started their campaign without waiting for security escorts.
Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch, chief minister of Balochistan, told a national newspaper that “these attacks cannot dampen our government’s resolve to completely eradicate the crippling disease.”
Customary condemnations aside, the Balochistan government has utterly failed in protecting lives of civilians in the restive Pakistani province, lamented civil society members.
This is a breaking news development
Adnan Aamir is a freelance researcher, analyst, and columnist. Adnan is also the editor of The Balochistan Point, an online newspaper from Pakistan. Follow him on Twitter @iAdnanAamir and visit his blog www.adnan-aamir.com. Read other articles by Adnan.
