Pakistani Taliban have threatened leading politician Imran Khan for supporting a UN-funded vaccination campaign to eradicate polio, his party said on Thursday.
The former cricketing star travelled to a remote village in north-western Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province Wednesday to administer vaccine to children.
Mr. Khan had declared polio workers to be “soldiers of Islam” and said those attacking them were not doing any justice to humanity, religion or Pakistan.
Islamist militants accuse health workers of acting as spies for the United States and say the polio vaccine is intended to make Muslim children sterile.
“Imran received a threat from Ansarul Mujahideen over his remarks over the anti—polio campaign,” said Shireen Mazari, a spokeswoman for Mr. Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party.
Ansarul Mujahideen is a little-known militant group linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Last year, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan banned polio vaccinations in the tribal region of Waziristan, alleging the campaign was a cover for espionage.
Attacks on polio vaccinators are common in Pakistan. More than 30 health workers and policemen guarding them have been killed since July 2012, according to official estimates.
The World Health Organization said 72 new polio cases had been registered in Pakistan this year compared to 58 in 2012.
Pakistan is among a few countries in the world where the crippling virus is still endemic.
