Police, health officials removed after Pakistan polio vaccinator says she was raped on duty

KARACHI: The government of the southern Sindh province said on Tuesday it had removed senior police and health officials in response to accusations of rape by a polio vaccinator in the Jacobabad district.

The incident occurred in the Allah Baksh Jakhrani village of Jacobabad, with the polio vaccinator testifying before a local court last week that she was raped while on duty.

“The Sindh Government has taken strict action following the reported negligence in the security and arrangements for polio workers in Jacobabad,” the government said in a statement.

“As a result, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Jacobabad, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jacobabad, and the District Health Officer (DHO) Jacobabad have been removed from their positions.”

On Monday, Provincial Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho took notice of the alleged rape and instructed police to provide her round-the-clock security.

“Our female polio workers are the backbone of the polio program and protecting them has always been the utmost priority of the program,” Dr. Pechuho said. “I am taking every necessary action to ensure that she gets the justice she deserves.”

On Sept. 9, Pakistan launched a week-long, nationwide polio vaccine campaign as the disease has spread this year beyond its traditional hot spots to areas once largely untouched by the virus.

Last week, health officials reported the first polio case in the capital, Islamabad, in 16 years. Since January, Pakistan has reported 17 new cases of polio.

One of only two countries in the world where the virus remains endemic, Pakistan recorded no new infections for a little over a year starting in 2021, the longest virus-free stretch the country had ever experienced.

Anti-polio campaigns in Pakistan are regularly marred by violence as militants target vaccination teams and police assigned to protect them, claiming that the campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.