UN Chief Ban Ki-moon condemns suicide attack near polio centre in Pakistan

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the suicide attack by Taliban outside a polio vaccination centre in Pakistan's Quetta city that killed 15 people and appealed its government to bring perpetrators of the attack to justice.

"The Secretary-General reiterates that nothing justifies terrorism. He urges the government of Pakistan to take all necessary measures to swiftly bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks," a statement issued by Ban's spokesperson here yesterday said.

The attack close to the premises of a polio eradication centre in Balochistan's capital Quetta, killed at least 15 people and injured 20 others.

The blast ripped through a police van outside the vaccination centre as security officials gathered there to escort polio workers for the third day of a vaccination campaign in Balochistan.

The UN chief also extended his condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

He expressed his sympathies to the people and government of Pakistan.

Polio workers have long been targeted in Pakistan by Islamist groups including the Taliban militants which claim that the polio immunisation drive is a front for espionage or a conspiracy to sterilise Muslims.

The most recent attack came in November last year, when unidentified gunmen shot and killed the head of an immunisation programme in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa district.