QUETTA  -  Two policemen who were providing security cover to polio team embraced martyrdom when unidenti­fied gunmen opened fire on them in Quetta’s Nawan Kili area on Tuesday. Police said the unknown mo­torcyclists attacked on the police who were on duty to safeguard the polio team as part of a vaccination drive launched on Monday. The dead bodies of po­licemen, identified as Shaukat Ali and Syed Mehdi were shifted to the Civil Hospital, they added.

The polio team was reported to be safe in the at­tack. A heavy contingent of police and FC reached the site of the incident and cordoned off the area. Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bi­zenjo has condemned the killing of the policemen who were on polio duty and called for a report on the incident from the Inspector General of Police.

Quddus Bizenjo called the attack an act of cow­ardice and terrorism and an conspiracy against the healthy future of our children.

He said anti-state elements want to thwart the polio campaign to fulfill their nefarious ambitions.

He further said that the negative propaganda against the polio campaign and the alleged inten­tions of the anti-social elements will be thwarted.

Chief Minister directed the IG Police to utilize all resources to bring the elements involved in the in­cident to justice and deserve worst punishment. He called for strict security to be provided to the polio workers in the province and told IG Police that all resources should be used to arrest the as­sailants. Expressing his commitment, he said the government will ensure the healthy future of chil­dren through the complete eradication of polio.

Minister for Home and Tribal Affairs Baloch­istan Mir Zia Ullah Langau has strongly con­demned the killing of police personnel working with the polio team. He asked for a report from the relevant authorities and directed that all re­sources should be used to arrest the assailants. Zia Ullah Langau said that the people of the prov­ince are with their forces and the sacrifices of our martyrs will not go in vain. He said that the perpetrators of such heinous attacks are the fu­ture enemies of our children.