Blast Injures Six in Attack on Pakistan Polio Workers

At least six people, including three policemen, were injured in a bomb explosion targeting a vehicle carrying Pakistan Polio Programme workers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The injured were transported to a hospital and are in stable condition. Authorities also thwarted a separate bomb threat in Peshawar.

At least six people, including three policemen, were injured in a bomb explosion targeting a vehicle carrying workers associated with the Pakistan Polio Programme in the country's restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, authorities said on Monday.

The explosion resulted in injuries to three frontline polio workers and three policemen in the South Waziristan district's Wana town. The injured were immediately shifted to a hospital, with their condition reported as stable. Police contingents rushed to the explosion site to launch a combing operation to apprehend the accused.

Last week, Pakistan reported its first polio case in 16 years in the capital, Islamabad, a significant setback in its battle to eradicate the virus nationwide. The country nearly achieved zero polio cases in 2021, with only one infection reported. So far this year, twelve cases have been reported in Balochistan, three in Sindh, and one each in Punjab and Islamabad.

In a separate incident in Peshawar, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's capital, two motorcyclists threw a suicide vest when signalled to stop by police at Jameel Chowk, Ring Road. A bomb disposal squad was called to defuse the jacket, which contained seven kilograms of explosives.

(With inputs from agencies.)