GUJRAWALA/MANDI BAHAUDDIN/LAYYAH

Two anti-polio teams came under attack in Mandi Bahauddin and Layyah while a cop was shot at and injured on the way to perform duty with vaccinators in Gujranwala here on Monday.
In Gujranwala, a police constable was shot at and critically injured when he was on the way to guard anti-polio vaccinators here on Tuesday.
Constable Ejaz Ahmed was going to perform duty with an anti-polio team when he was attacked by unidentified assailant(s) in Kangni Wala area of Gujranwala on Monday. He received bullet injury and was rushed to DHQ Hospital by a Rescue 1122 team.
The police rushed to the area ad launched a search operation by cordoning off the area. However no arrest has been made till filing of this report.
SP Civil Lines Nadeem Khokar told The Nation that the incident seems to be the result of a personal enmity. He said that the place duty of the injured cop is 3-4 km away from the site of the occurrence so “we can’t jump to conclude that it is a terrorists attack.”
According to the police, it is premature to link the incident to the anti-polio vaccination campaign. However, a probe has been launched to ascertain real cause behind the incident.
In Mandi Bahauddin, a two-member anti-polio vaccination team including a lady health worker was attacked by a man in Mohallah Mumtazabad in Mandi city the other day.
LHW Ume Kalsoom and Shahzad Nazir vaccinated large number of children in Mumtaz Mohallah. However, as they reached Dera Pathanan, one Akbar Khan started abusing and manhandling them. The police constable detailed with the team was not accompanying the vaccinators. On information, the Civil Lines Police rushed to the site and arrested the accused. The police registered a case and started investigation.
In Layyah, anti-polio workers including two lady health workers were held hostage by a man for two hours.
The anti-polio campaign, like other parts of the country, began in Layyah district here on Monday. About 760 special teams have been constituted to administer anti-polio vaccine to more than 290,970 children of up to five years of age across the district.
A health department team comprising two lady health workers (LHW) - Bushara Latif, Rabia Bibi and Muhammad Akram went to Chak 88/TDA in Tehsil Karor. There the team members were made hostage by a culprit identified as Rahim Khan. He kept the anti-polio workers captive for a about two hours and later the Karor Police got them recovered while arresting the accused.
Karor Police SHO Riaz Ahmed told The Nation that the police have arrested the accused who is being interrogated. He expressed the resolve to provide security to anti-polio workers and make the ongoing polio eradication campaign a success.
It is to be recalled that during previous round against polio, a family in Chak Shahbazabad, Layyah, had refused to administer anti-polio vaccination to their children. The lady health workers and other field staffers of the Health Department have demanded foolproof security during anti-polio campaign, especially in the far-flung areas.