Swat – A Levies officer, identified as Abdul Kabir, was shot dead on Monday when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a polio vaccination team in Biakan village of Tehsil Matta, Swat District, officials confirmed.

The attack came a day after the government launched a nationwide anti-polio campaign aimed at reaching over 45 million children, deploying 285 police personnel nationwide to protect vaccination teams.

According to Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Umar Khan, the vaccination team, including two female health workers, was administering oral polio drops inside a residence when assailants ambushed from nearby hills. Kabir, deployed as part of the team’s security escort, was hit by multiple rounds and died instantly.

The attack unfolded in Anzar Tangay, a mountainous locality previously flagged for militant presence. Security forces later cordoned the area and launched a search operation.

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the assault, praising Kabir’s bravery and vowing “those responsible will face the full force of the law.” He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to safeguarding polio workers, whose service “represents the front line of public health.”

A Renewed Threat to Eradication Efforts

Pakistan remains one of only two countries, alongside Afghanistan, where the wild poliovirus (WPV1) continues to circulate. Despite repeated vaccination drives, polio teams and their escorts are frequent targets, especially in areas where Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) influence and vaccine misinformation persist.

Official data show 74 confirmed polio cases in 2024 and 24 so far in 2025 (as of September). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded the highest infections this year (16), followed by Sindh (6), and one each in Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Health officials say vaccination campaigns will continue in high-risk districts despite the violence, with tighter coordination between health and security departments.

Political Backlash and Policy Hypocrisy

But beyond the immediate tragedy, critics argue the Swat attack has revived debate over the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s reluctance to confront militancy head-on.

Just days earlier, newly elected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi ruled out any new military operations against militants, echoing PTI founder Imran Khan’s long-standing opposition to armed interventions. Afridi declared in his maiden assembly address, “As long as we are here, no such move will be allowed.”

Analysts warn such rhetoric couched in calls for “dialogue” and “non-violence”, creates political space for militant outfits regrouping across KP’s tribal belt, including the TTP and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). Both groups have intensified attacks on security personnel, health workers, and civilians in recent months.

At the federal level, Information Minister Atta Tarar directly accused Imran Khan of “supporting terrorists,” alleging that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had become the militant wing of PTI. He branded the party “Tehreek-e-Intishar” (Movement of Chaos), alleging that certain political actors were obstructing counter-terrorism operations under the guise of public sympathy.

“The government is determined to eliminate terrorism,” Tarar said. “There is no room for militants; we will not rest until the last terrorist is removed.”

Counter-Operations Continue

Militants have long targeted polio teams and security escorts, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, accusing them of espionage and Western agendas. In 2024 alone, at least 20 people were killed and 53 injured during vaccination drives. Earlier incidents in Noshki and Bajaur also underscored persistent threats to frontline health workers.

In August, two new polio cases were reported from KP, raising the national total to 23 cases in 2024, amid fears that worsening security conditions could undo decades of progress toward eradication.

Even as KP’s leadership resists new offensives, security forces continue targeted operations across the region. In a recent intelligence-based operation (IBO) in North Waziristan’s Spin Wam Tehsil, 23 militants were killed and 10 injured, according to the ISPR, reaffirming the state’s resolve to root out terrorism.

Recent attacks across KP and the tribal belt demonstrate that militant groups are rebuilding their networks. Analysts warn that the PTI’s political obstruction and ambivalence toward operations not only embolden extremists but also undermine years of hard-won counterterror gains.

The contrast could not be sharper. While in power, the PTI celebrated counterterrorism campaigns such as Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad as milestones of national unity. Today, the same party’s provincial leadership denounces similar actions as “state oppression,” a reversal that critics describe as politically expedient and dangerously short-sighted.

Analysts note the irony: as the PTI-led administration calls for “restraint” and “dialogue,” militants exploit the resulting policy vacuum to regroup and strike — often at the cost of law-enforcement officers like Abdul Kabir, who continue to bear the brunt of Pakistan’s long, unfinished war against terror.

A Continuing Battle

For frontline workers, the war is far from over. Polio teams in KP operate under constant threat, moving door-to-door with police and Levies escorts in hostile zones. Officials insist the eradication campaign will continue “at all costs.”

“These attacks endanger not just health workers but Pakistan’s global credibility,” a senior health official told HTN. “Every life lost pushes us further from a polio-free future.”

As investigations into Kabir’s killing proceed, analysts warn that the province’s political ambivalence toward militancy risks undoing years of counterterrorism progress, and turning public-health missions into new battlefields in Pakistan’s struggle against extremism.