President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday sentenced a deadly attack on a polio vaccination team in Nushki, Balutchistan.
A police officer assigned to the team was martyred, and another police officer was injured when unidentified armed men opened fire. The attack took place on Tuesday as the team was carrying out routine vaccination work in the region.
President Zardari has expressed profound concern with regard to the incident and paid tribute to polio workers who risk their lives to protect children across the country.
In a message linked to the current national anti-political campaign, Zardari noted that cases of paralyzing illness dropped by more than 90% due to coherent vaccination, surveillance and bravery of health teams.
However, he warned that the fight against polio is not yet over and has called for continuous support for eradication efforts.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack and offered condolences to the family of the worker killed. He has sworn that officials would face strict action and reaffirm his government’s commitment to protect polio teams from militant threats.
Polio teams in Pakistan have often been targeted in deadly attacks, especially in distant areas or affected by conflicts, which makes the country one of only two where polio remains endemic.
Pakistan has recorded 10 cases of polio so far in 2025, according to official figures.
Pean, while two polio workers were kidnapped by armed men in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Tank district during an anti-political campaign in progress on Monday.
The incident occurred in Jandola’s tribal subdivision. The victims were identified as Sifatullah, member of the staff of Comnet, and Hizbullah, volunteer. Both exercised vaccination tasks at the time of removal.
Pakistan launches the third national Polio country of 2025
On Sunday of the year, the Pakistan polio program launched its third national campaign for national immunization days (NIDS) at the National Emergency Operations Center in Islamabad.
The campaign was inaugurated by Ayesha Raza Farooq, the Prime Minister’s focal person for the eradication of polio, as well as the main program officials and partner organizations.
To mark the launch, Ayesha Raza Farooq administered the vaccine against oral polio and vitamin a fell to children under the age of five, reaffirming the government’s commitment to wiping polio.
The one -week journey started on May 26 and aims to vaccinate more than 45 million children under the age of five.
