Mandi Bahauddin | Pakistan

A team of female health workers was attacked on Saturday while administering vaccines against the human papillomavirus (HPV) in Punjab’s Mandi Bahauddin district, the second such incident in three days. The HPV vaccine, first launched in Pakistan in 2022, has now been rolled out nationwide as part of the routine immunisation programme to protect adolescent girls against cervical cancer. However, vaccine hesitancy in Pakistan remains a major public health challenge, driven by a mix of misinformation, safety concerns, and mistrust of authorities. In the latest incident yesterday, the HPV vaccination team was performing its duty in a non-formal education school in the village of Ratuwal, within the limits of Kathian Sheikhan police station, when a 55-year-old resident of the village entered the school and attempted to attack a female health supervisor. According to Kathian Sheikhan’s Station House Officer Sabir Iqbal Sindhu, the suspect “tried to attack the supervisor with a stick and by lifting a chair, threate...

A lady health worker, part of a vaccination team for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation campaign for girls, was beaten up by local women in Mandi Bahauddin on Thursday, police said. Speaking to Dawn.com, Kuthiala Sheikhan Police Station House Officer (SHO) Sabir Hussain Sindhu said that the incident took place in Chak No 38. “LHW Ghulam Sughra was beaten up by local women while the vaccination campaign was being carried out at a school,” he said, adding that the health worker was also thrown to the ground during the assault. He said that a first information report (FIR) had been registered on the complaint of the health worker but no arrests have been made so far. The FIR of the incident, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was registered at the Kuthiala Sheikhan Police Station under Sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code. In the FIR, Sughra stated that she was present along with the ...

A man allegedly shot dead his parents and wife over a domestic dispute in the Asadullahpur village of Phalia Tehsil in Punjab’s Mandi Bahauddin district, police said on Monday. Mandi Bahauddin Police Sub-Inspector Zohaib Warraich confirmed the incident, stating: “A deeply tragic event took place in Asadullahpur village where a young man shot and killed his parents and wife. “Evidence has been collected, and search teams have been formed. The suspect will be arrested soon.” A first information report (FIR) was registered at the Bhagat police station under Section 302 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the FIR, the police “received a call about the suspect allegedly shooting and killing his father, mother, and wife over a disagreement involving the sale proceeds of agricultural land”. The deceased father had recently sold four kanals of agricultural land for approximately Rs20 million. His son, who returned to his native area from Kuwait just four days ago, demanded his share of the sale proceeds...