A police officer at the Polio Service was killed Monday in the city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the Khyber Jamrud Pakhtunkhwa district the first initial day of the first anti-political unit nationwide, authorities said.
The vaccinators, who go to the door to inoculated children, are often attacked by militants, especially in KP and Baluchistan. Only in 2024, 20 people died and 53 were injured during anti-political campaigns in the province.
Police spokesman Zaheer Ahmed told him Dawn.com“The unknown suspects traveling on a motorcycle attacked the official in the Ghundi area near Sakhi Pul and shot him.”
“The agent, identified as Abdul Khalid, was in the duty to protect the polio team when he was martyred,” he said and added that an investigation was underway.
Zarmat Khan, another police officer, said AFP That “despite the incident, the impulse of vaccination of polyomyelitis in the area is still ongoing.”
The prohibited militant group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan attributed the responsibility of the attack.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the incident aimed at the Anti-Polio Drive team in Jamrud, the Ministry published in X.
Expressing his condolences for the police, Naqvi said: “We greet the duty of the martyrdom of AGUDUL KHALIQ agent while he is in the duty to ensure the future of our children.”
Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, where polyomyelitis remains endemic.
Despite global efforts to eradicate virus, challenges such as safety problems, vaccine vaccine and erroneous information have slowed progress.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched on Sunday the first national anti-political campaign of the year, which extends from February 3 to 9, managing polio falls to children under five years of age and promising to eradicate the country’s disease.
I expected the dedicated teams to work “day and night to eradicate the disease, and reach remote areas and peoples”, adding that these teams would successfully fulfill the great responsibility by “using their complete energies.”
According to the Prime Minister, the country reported 77 cases of polio last year, with the virus detected in at least 90 districts. The first case of this year was reported in the district of Ismail Khan of KP.
