Islamabad, Jan 19 (IANS): A Pakistani policeman escorting a polio vaccination team was killed by unidentified gunmen in a Karachi suburb Monday, a media report said.
Assistant Sub-Inspector Tabassum Ali was shot by motorcycle-riding gunmen when polio workers were administering the vaccine to a child inside a house in Orangi town, Dawn reported.
The attackers managed to escape from the scene.
Ali was shifted to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.
Polio immunisation activities were suspended in various areas of Karachi following the attack.
Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio remains endemic, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria.
Efforts to eradicate it have been seriously hampered by the targeting of vaccination teams in recent years.
This is the first such attack this year in the country, struggling to contain the crippling disease.