A polio worker and a policeman escorting a vaccination team were killed in two separate attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, coinciding with the start of the nationwide anti-polio campaign on Monday.
In the first incident, a policeman providing security to a polio vaccination team was martyred in the Shakar Khel area of Banda Daud Shah tehsil in Karak. Armed assailants opened fire, also injuring a polio worker, according to police reports.
In a separate attack in Bannu’s Kala Khel Masti Khan area, a polio worker was shot and killed while on his way to work. Police noted that the assailants fled the scene and suggested the victim might have been targeted due to an old enmity.
These incidents occurred as the government launched a nationwide polio vaccination campaign, aiming to immunize approximately 44 million children to curb the spread of the crippling disease. So far in 2024, polio has affected 63 children across the country.
Attacks on polio workers, while tragic, are not uncommon. Over the years, terrorists have frequently targeted vaccination teams.
Alarmingly, more than 60% of children affected by polio this year had missed routine immunizations. In response, health authorities have formed a high-level committee to enhance coordination between the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) and the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI).
