QUETTA, APR 23: Two Levies personnel were martyred in Mastung’s Kali Teri area in Balochistan on Wednesday when unidentified assailants opened fire on a polio team’s security detail, said the police.
The victims were deployed to protect the anti-polio workers conducting a vaccination campaign in the region.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the polio team and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“Terrorists who harm innocent civilians and security personnel are enemies of humanity and will be punished,” he said.
He reiterated that such attacks would not deter Pakistan’s resolve to eradicate polio from the country. “The government remains steadfast in its commitment to eliminate the disease. The polio campaign will continue with full national resolve,” he said.
The prime minister also urged parents not to be disheartened and to ensure their children receive life-saving polio drops to secure their futures.
Meanwhile, a new polio case has been confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Torghar district, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH).
This is the second polio case from KP and the seventh reported case in Pakistan this year.
The NIH’s Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication verified the case amidst an ongoing nationwide polio vaccination drive, which began on April 21 and will continue till April 27.
The campaign aims to vaccinate 45.4 million children under five across the country, including in District Torghar.
The Pakistan Polio Programme is appealing to parents across the country to ensure repeated vaccinations for their children to prevent the spread of the poliovirus. Another nationwide campaign is scheduled from May 26 to June 1, which will also cover all districts, including Torghar.
“Ensure your children receive repeated doses of the polio vaccine to protect them from the crippling poliovirus. The ongoing polio campaign is a critical opportunity to safeguard children against this disease,” the press release mentioned.
In Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan — the only countries where polio remains endemic — militants have for decades targeted vaccination teams and their security escorts.
Over the past decade, hundreds of police officers and health workers have been killed by militants.
Polio, a highly infectious virus mainly affecting children under five, can result in lifelong paralysis but is easily prevented by the oral administration of a few drops of a vaccine.
Pakistan recorded a surge in polio cases last year, with 74 infections reported, compared to just six in 2023.
