QUETTA: A policeman guarding a polio vaccination team was martyred in a gun attack by unidentified assailants in the Killi Muhammad Hasni area on the outskirts of Noshki on Tuesday.

Officials said the attack occurred on the second day of the ongoing anti-polio campaign when the vaccination team was administering drops to children under five years of age.

`The attackers, riding motorcycles, appeared suddenly and opened fire on the security personnel deployed with the polio team,` saidNoshkiDeputy Commissioner Amjad Hussain Soomro. The assailants fled the scene after the shooting.

Police identified the slain officer as Waheed Ahmed Mengal, a resident of Noshki district.

`He sustained multiple bullet wounds and died on the spot,` senior police official Hassan Mengal told Dawn. The body was shifted to the district hospital. He added that the polio workers remained unharmed, but the campaign in the area was immediately suspended following the incident.

Sources said the attackers also took away the martyred officer`s official weapon and motorbike.

Security forces have launched a search operation in the area to track down the culprits.

Additional personnel have been deployed across the district to reinforce security for vaccination teams.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Balochistan government spokesperson, Shahid Rind confirmed the martyred police officer was a resident of Jalalabad, Noshki.

`The polio campaign is a national duty and any attack on it is intolerable,` Mr Rind said in a statement, paying tribute to the slain officer who `sacrificed himself while on duty`.

`This attack is a conspiracy to sabotage the national campaign and spread fear and panic.

Condemnations pour in President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the family of the deceased. He noted that the courage and sacrifice of polio officials `inspire us all to save our children from this crippling disease`.

The president also reiterated Pakistan`s commitment to eradicating polio. `We have the tools, the will and the support of our global partners to make this vision a reality,` he said in a statement issued on Tuesday. `I call on parentstoopentheirdoorstovaccinators, ensuring every child receives the life-saving polio drops.

`I urge teachers, religious leaders and community elders to champion this noble cause, dispel-ling myths and building trust. I appeal to the media to amplify the truth: the polio vaccine is safe, effective, and our best weapon.

President Zardari also paid tribute to `our brave polio workers, who risk their lives to reach every child, often in the face of grave danger`.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack and expressed his grief over the death of Waheed Mengal, his office said in a statement.

He reiterated that the attack on the polio vaccination team that was securing the future of children was unacceptable, adding that the miscreants working against the antipolio drive would be dealt with.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the incident and said that an attack on the team tasked with securing the safe future of children was intolerable.

Balochistan Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar also condemned the incident, describing it as a `cowardly and inhumane act`.

He emphasised that targeting the polio campaign was equivalent to attacking the future of innocent children. He warned that any effort to derail the polio campaign would be seen as a challenge to the writ of the state and affirmed the government would deal with terrorists with an iron hand.