Daily Times

Eleven policemen were dismissed from Bannu police for not obeying the officers’ orders for polio duty in Lakki Marwat on Monday.

According to media reports, the policemen were to be sent to Lakki Marwat for polio duty, but they refused to obey the orders of their officer to go with the polio teams.

According to the report, the dismissed police personnel include head constables, junior head constables, and drivers.

The spread of poliovirus in Pakistan sets alarm bells ringing, and on September 16, the Sindh government also removed Deputy Commissioner Zahoor Ali and SSP Jacobabad Sameer Noor Channa due to negligence in security and arrangements for polio. Furthermore, the District Health Officer (DHO) of Jacobabad has also been removed.

On September 21, two health officials were suspended when the first polio case of the year was detected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as poliovirus in a nine-month-old girl from District Mohmand was confirmed.

KP Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur, while taking notice, has ordered an inquiry into the matter, directing the health secretary to immediately suspend the concerned district health officer and polio coordinator. The chief minister directed that action should be taken against the concerned government officials as well as the concerned staff of the partner institutions.

Separately, Jacobabad police claimed to have made a ‘significant’ progress in the investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a polio worker in the district.According to the police, the DNA tests confirmed the involvement of the accused, Ahmed Jakhrani, in the September 11 incident.