The assault took place in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, specifically in the Orakzai district, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban. At present, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Local police officer Adnan Khan reported that the violence erupted in the morning as health workers were gathering to embark on a house-to-house campaign, where police escort teams are responsible for ensuring their safety.
While the attack did not harm any polio workers, one police officer sustained injuries and later succumbed to his wounds in the hospital. The incident drew swift condemnation from Pakistan’s political leadership, including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who paid tribute to the fallen officers for their bravery in responding to the assault.
In a related incident the same day, terrorists targeted another health facility in North Waziristan, another former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, where they confiscated firearms and warned health workers against participating in the polio campaign. The attackers left with the seized weapons, but no further details were disclosed.
In Pakistan, health campaigns aimed at combating polio have frequently been under threat from militant groups, who falsely allege that vaccination efforts are a Western plot to sterilize children. Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only countries in the world where polio has not been eradicated, posing a significant public health risk.
Severe cases of polio can lead to permanent paralysis and even death. In response to a spike in new cases, Pakistan launched another nationwide polio vaccination campaign on Monday, aiming to immunize 45 million children under the age of five. This is the third campaign of the year, prompted by the rising number of polio cases, with 41 confirmed instances reported across 71 districts thus far, predominantly in the southwestern provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, as well as in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and eastern Punjab.
Meanwhile, health officials in Afghanistan announced the initiation of a vaccination drive across 16 of the country’s 34 provinces, targeting 6.2 million children under five. According to the World Health Organization, Afghanistan has reported 23 confirmed polio cases this year.
The ongoing violence in Pakistan highlights the peril faced by health workers and police officers, as militants and separatists frequently attack security forces and civilians across various regions. In a recent statement, a government report detailed that gunmen shot five construction workers on Monday night in Banjgur, Balochistan province, who were assigned to repair a dam. No additional details were provided, and it remains unclear who was responsible for this latest attack.
