This is the second killing of police officers on polio duty in KP in as many days.
A police constable, identified as Maqsood, 35, a resident of Kheshgi, who was part of the security team of a polio vaccination team, was killed on Wednesday when unidentified assailants opened fire in Kaahi area of Nizampur, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, police said.
According to the police spokesperson, the attack occurred while polio workers were administering drops to children inside a house. The attackers managed to flee after the incident. A search operation to apprehend them is underway.
This is the second such incident in three days since the launch of the new national polio campaign. The state-run APP reported that a Levies agent, identified as Abdul Kabeer, who had been assigned to protect a polio vaccination team, was fatally shot by unidentified gunmen in Swat district on Tuesday.
Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack and paid tribute to the martyred policeman. “Police constable Maqsood achieved the great honor of martyrdom in the line of duty,” Naqvi said. “An attack on a team working for the secure future of our children is intolerable. »
Read: Officer guarding polio vaccination team martyred in KP
“The workers were administering vaccines inside a house while the gendarme stood guard outside when he was attacked,” he said. “The attackers fled the scene after the incident.”
The government has launched a national polio eradication campaign, targeting more than 45 million children. A special order was issued for the campaign, with the deployment of additional police and personnel. The national polio campaign was scheduled to take place across the country from October 13 to 19. More than 400,000 health workers will go door to door to ensure children are vaccinated against polio, according to the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC).
Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, where polio is still endemic. Safety risks, vaccine hesitancy and misinformation continue to slow eradication efforts.
Learn more: National polio campaign begins today
More than 25.4 million children across the country received polio drops during the latest campaign. In Punjab, 14.3 million children were vaccinated against polio, while in Sindh, 5.019 million children were vaccinated. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 3.774 million children received polio drops and in Balochistan, 1.45 million children received the vaccine. In Islamabad, 203,000 children were vaccinated, while Gilgit-Baltistan reported 187,000 children and Azad Jammu and Kashmir 481,000 children receiving the drops.
Polio vaccinators, who carry out door-to-door vaccinations for children, are often targeted by activists, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan. In 2024 alone, at least 20 people have been killed and 53 injured in anti-polio operations in KP.
Data from September showed a decrease in vaccine refusals during the latest vaccination drive in KP, although some areas, such as Lowi Mamund Tehsil, saw residents announce a boycott of the drive.
