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Vaccine Worker Killed in Pakistan, Amid Taliban Hostility Vaccine Aide Gunned Down In Pakistan
(about 1 hour later)
ISLAMABAD, Dec. 28 — A health worker supervising a polio vaccination campaign was fatally shot and two others were wounded on Saturday when gunmen opened fire at a hospital in northwestern Pakistan, officials said. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A health worker supervising a polio vaccination campaign was fatally shot and two others were wounded on Saturday when gunmen opened fire at a hospital in northwestern Pakistan, officials said.
No one immediately took responsibility for the killing, but the Taliban, which accuses the United States of using a drive to eradicate polio in the country as a cover for spying, has threatened the lives of health workers who immunize children.No one immediately took responsibility for the killing, but the Taliban, which accuses the United States of using a drive to eradicate polio in the country as a cover for spying, has threatened the lives of health workers who immunize children.
Pakistani officials said two gunmen riding a motorbike had opened fire at a government hospital in Matni, a suburb of Peshawar, the provincial capital of restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province. Zahid Gul, who was overseeing the vaccination campaign, was killed and another man and a woman were wounded in the attack. The gunmen fled. Pakistani officials said two gunmen riding a motorbike had opened fire at a government hospital in Matni, a suburb of Peshawar, the provincial capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province. Zahid Gul, who was overseeing the vaccination campaign, was killed and another man and a woman were wounded in the attack. The gunmen fled.
Saturday’s episode was a particular setback to the former cricket star and current opposition leader, Imran Khan, whose political party controls Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Saturday’s episode was a particular setback to the former cricket star and current opposition leader Imran Khan, whose political party controls Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Mr. Khan this month condemned the attacks on health workers taking part in vaccination efforts. He said that he would personally lead the anti-polio drive and warned that the country risked being quarantined internationally if the attacks continued. Pakistan is one of only a few countries where the polio virus is still rampant.Mr. Khan this month condemned the attacks on health workers taking part in vaccination efforts. He said that he would personally lead the anti-polio drive and warned that the country risked being quarantined internationally if the attacks continued. Pakistan is one of only a few countries where the polio virus is still rampant.
Mr. Khan has supported peace talks with Taliban militants and opposes the Pakistani military’s operations against them in the semiautonomous tribal regions adjoining Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. He also vehemently opposes drone strikes by the United States Central Intelligence Agency and says civilian casualties from the missile strikes fuel more militancy, instead of curbing it.  Mr. Khan has supported peace talks with Taliban militants and opposes the Pakistani military’s operations against them in the semiautonomous tribal regions adjoining Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province. He also vehemently opposes drone strikes by the United States Central Intelligence Agency and says civilian casualties from the missile strikes fuel more militancy, instead of curbing it. 
The Taliban’s resistance to polio vaccination hardened after the raid in May 2011 on Osama bin Laden’s compound in northern Pakistan, as revelations surfaced that the C.I.A. had used a Pakistani doctor, Shakil Afridi, to run a vaccination campaign aided efforts to locate Bin Laden.  The Taliban’s resistance to polio vaccination hardened after the raid in May 2011 on Osama bin Laden’s compound in northern Pakistan, as revelations surfaced that the C.I.A. had used a Pakistani doctor, Shakil Afridi, to run a vaccination campaign that aided efforts to locate Bin Laden. 
Since then, the Taliban has repeatedly targeted the vaccination campaign and issued religious edicts that accuse the United States of using it to gather intelligence. Hard-line religious extremists also claim that goal of the vaccinations is to sterilize Muslims.  Since then, the Taliban has repeatedly targeted the vaccination campaign.