KHYBER: A policeman was shot dead when armed assailants opened fire at an anti-polio vaccination team under police security in Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday.
The incident occurred in the Bakarabad area on the first day of the nationwide anti-polio campaign. While the polio workers remained unharmed, the policeman assigned to protect them was killed on the spot.
Local police official Zarmat Khan stated, “Two motorcycle riders opened fire” on the officer who was accompanying the polio vaccinators for their security. The attackers managed to escape after the assault, leading to the suspension of the vaccination drive in the area.
The slain policeman was identified as Constable Abdul Khaliq. Upon receiving information about the attack, a heavy contingent of police reached the site and cordoned off the area, setting up checkpoints at various locations to apprehend the culprits.
Despite the tragic incident, police confirmed that the polio vaccination campaign continues in the region. However, a health department official, speaking anonymously, confirmed that the polio vaccination team had been recalled from Bakarabad, and the campaign there had been postponed.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, remains a hotspot for militant activities.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched a seven-day nationwide anti-polio campaign, the first of the year, with 945 polio teams participating to vaccinate 208,000 children in Khyber district.
Anti-polio drives have been initiated in several regions of Punjab, KP, Sindh, and Balochistan, though the campaign in Quetta is set to begin tomorrow.
While inaugurating the campaign, the prime minister reaffirmed his government’s commitment to eradicating polio from Pakistan. He emphasized that this national effort aims to protect millions of children and safeguard their health.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only countries where polio is still endemic, and vaccination teams frequently come under attack, sometimes resulting in the deaths of polio workers and security personnel.
Last year, Pakistan witnessed a sharp rise in polio cases, recording 77 cases compared to just six in 2023.
Balochistan, despite being the least populated province, reported the highest number of polio cases in 2024.
Polio can be easily prevented through a few drops of oral vaccine, but efforts to eradicate the virus are hindered by security concerns, misinformation, and parental refusals.
In recent years, militant attacks have increasingly targeted police escorts accompanying vaccinators as they conduct door-to-door immunization.
Pakistan has experienced a surge in terrorist incidents, particularly after the Taliban’s return to power in neighboring Afghanistan.
2024 was one of the deadliest years in nearly a decade, with over 1,600 fatalities due to militant attacks, according to security analysts.
Pakistan has accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of harboring militants who plan attacks on Pakistani soil, a charge Kabul denies.
In November, at least seven people, including five children, were killed in a bombing targeting police officers guarding vaccinators near a school in southwestern Balochistan province.
