In Multan, Pakistan, authorities disclosed on Wednesday that the prime suspect linked to the gang rape of a female polio worker during a vaccination campaign last week had been detained by Pakistani police. The horrific incident occurred in Jacobabad, situated in the southern Sindh province, amid a series of assaults targeting polio vaccination teams operating door-to-door across Pakistan.
The victim, a polio worker, reported being sexually assaulted by three men while administering polio drops to children in a house in Jacobabad. The arrested suspect was named Ahmad Jakhrani, with two other suspects still evading capture, as confirmed by Mohammad Saifal, a local police official.
Following the assault, a local police chief was terminated for oversight in failing to ensure the safety and security of the polio worker. Such incidents of sexual violence are infrequent in Pakistan, although female polio workers have previously encountered harassment during vaccination efforts.
The Sindh provincial government has declared its commitment to conducting a thorough investigation into the case. Moreover, the police took into custody the woman’s husband for expulsion from their residence and issuing death threats, accusing her of disgracing the family by being a victim of rape.
In Pakistan, honor killings, where women are murdered by relatives for allegedly bringing shame upon the family, remain prevalent. To safeguard the assaulted woman, police have stationed personnel at the residence where she is staying with relatives.
Polio eradication campaigns in Pakistan are frequently marred by violence, with militants targeting vaccination teams and law enforcement assigned to protect them, falsely alleging Western involvement in schemes to sterilize children. Reportedly, Pakistan reported 17 new cases of polio this year, endangering the extensive efforts to eliminate the disease, which primarily affects children under the age of five and spreads through contaminated water.
Pakistan, alongside Afghanistan, is the only country where polio transmission has not been halted. The Pakistani government is gearing up for another polio vaccination drive scheduled for October as part of ongoing efforts to combat the disease.
