Bajaur, KP – The nationwide polio eradication campaign was marred by tragedy as unidentified armed assailants attacked a polio team in the Salarzai tehsil of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Bajaur district, resulting in the deaths of a policeman and a civilian.
The attack took place on Tuesday afternoon, the second day of the last anti-polio drive of 2025, which will continue until December 21.
Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Israr Khan verified the report about the incident in the Thangi area in Salarzai.
The martyred policeman was identified as Constable Sajad Ahmed, who succumbed to critical injuries sustained while guarding the vaccination team.
The armed men also fatally shot down a civilian passerby who courageously tried to pursue the fleeing assailants.
Residents confirmed the claim, but the assailants got away. A search operation has since been initiated by the police. PRO confirmed that no polio workers were physically harmed in the incident.
A Targeted Campaign of Violence
Militants often target polio vaccinators and their security escort, especially in KP and Balochistan. Violence, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have continued to undermine the campaign.
In 2024, 20 individuals were killed, and 53 were injured during anti-polio campaigns in KP alone, which made it a very violent year.
In a wider context, according to official figures released in November, 96 individuals had been killed in attacks targeting polio teams in KP since 2012, of whom 61 were policemen, 27 health workers, and five civilians.
At the same time, 170 individuals were injured and 36 kidnapped during vaccination campaigns, which proves the highest risks of this “public health mission.
This recent assault is similar to another attack in October, where a Levies constable guarding a polio team in Swat was murdered by unknown assailants.
National Resolve to Eradicate Polio
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly denounced the attack, grieving the deaths.
He emphasized that the vaccination campaign will not stop, promising to make the culprits face justice and go on until the polio virus is totally eliminated in the nation.
Pakistan is one of the very few states in the world that is endemic with polio, along with Afghanistan. This year, the country has registered 30 polio cases, of which 19 cases were registered in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Polio is an incurable and extremely contagious illness, and thus, the only measure against it is the successful and punctual administration of repeated doses of the oral vaccine to children below the age of five.
