No victims were reported when unknown men opened fire against a vaccination team against polyomyelitis in the Diamer district, where Gilgit-Baltistan recorded their first case of the year.
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.
According to a first information report (FIR) registered at the Local Police Station, the incident occurred on Sunday when unknown armed men opened fire against a polyomyelitis team in Sheikho’s village in the Tangir Valley, the constituency of GB’s prime minister, Haji Gulbar Khan.
However, the polio team remained safe.
According to the FIR, as soon as the polyomyelitis vaccination team returned to Sheikho’s village after completing their duties, two unknown armed men stopped the vehicle of the team on the RC Bridge.
“Everyone is ruining the environment here bringing [unveiled] Gilgit women on behalf of the polio campaign.
“If you do this again, you will not be able to escape,” they said before shooting the vehicle of the polio team, which suffered a punctured tire. Armed men fled to a nearby hill.
The incident occurred at 1:45 pm, according to the FIR.
According to GB government spokesman, Faizullah Faraq, the prime minister realized the incident and has directed a strict action.
The polio monitoring team had been transferred to a safe place immediately after the incident, Faraq said.
He said that the polio team went to the area “without informing the police”, which led to the “unfortunate” incident.
First case of Poly Informed in GB
The first case of wild poliovirus has been informed in GB, taking the national total to 11 this year, as the country continues to fight against the weakening disease.
The regional reference laboratory for the eradication of polyomyelitis at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad confirmed the new wild poliovirus case in the Diamer District of GB.
While providing details about the case, GB’s Secretary of Health, Asifullah Khan, said a 23 -month -old boy was diagnosed with poliovirus in the Diamer talent area.
He said that the child has not traveled outside the area, however, it has been confirmed that the strain of the virus originates in the Liaquatabad de Karachi area.
Asifullah observed that there was a record of administering polio falls to the child. However, he added that the child did not receive vaccines to administer immediately after birth.
For a question, the Secretary of Health said that the department has not announced the detection of poliovirus to the public, but the case has been confirmed.
This is the first case of wild poliovirus reported by GB and the 11th case confirmed in Pakistan this year, a statement from the Pakistan polio eradication program said.
The Third National Campaign of Vaccination of Polyomyelitis of 2025, which began on May 26, concluded yesterday, successfully reaching more than 45 million children under five in 159 districts, including high -risk areas of the country.
The program asked all parents to make sure their children do not miss any opportunity to receive polio falls.
Before the last case, there were no reported cases of poliovirus in GB and the region declared a polio free zone.
Poly is a highly infectious and weakening disease without a cure. The only way to protect children is through repeated doses of the polyomyelitis vaccine for all children under five, as well as the timely completion of all vaccines offered as part of the essential immunization program.
Last year, the country reported more than 70 cases of polyomyelitis, with the virus detected in around 90 districts.
This year’s first polyomyelitis vaccination campaign was carried out in February, followed by a fractional IPV-OPV polio campaign (Poly injectable vaccine) in Quetta and Karachi on February 20 and 22, respectively. Around one million children were attacked for vaccination in this campaign.
