At least two police officers escorting polio vaccination teams were killed in separate attacks in Bajaur district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The incidents occurred in Tabbai and Dag Qila regions of Salarzai. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where wild poliovirus remains endemic.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi denounced the attacks and instructed the Inspector General to provide a detailed report. Polio workers in Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, have frequently been targeted. In a previous incident in April, a police constable was killed and four others were injured while providing security for polio teams in Hangu district.
In another attack in February, a police officer was killed during an assault on a police vaccination team in Chaman district of Balochistan. Similarly, in Lahore, polio teams were attacked as parents refused polio drops for their children. The suspects not only prevented the vaccination but also assaulted the health workers, leading to police intervention and subsequent legal action against them.
