 "Pakistan: Militant attack kills second police officer guarding polio workers in two days")
A police officer guarding a polio vaccination team in northwest Pakistan was killed by militants on Wednesday, marking the second such attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in as many days, officials said.
The incident took place in the Kahai village of Nizampur in Nowshera district during the third day of a nationwide anti-polio campaign targeting 45 million children. Two armed assailants attacked the officer, who was “killed on the spot,” according to local police official Bilal Khan. The vaccination team under his protection was unharmed.
The attack was claimed by Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, a local affiliate of the Pakistani Taliban. Over the past decade, militants in Pakistan have repeatedly targeted police and health workers involved in polio eradication efforts, leaving hundreds dead.
Pakistan is one of only two countries—alongside Afghanistan—where polio remains endemic. Last year, the country experienced a surge in polio cases, reporting 74 infections compared to just six in 2023, underscoring the persistent public health challenge in the region.
So far this year, 29 polio cases have been recorded, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounting for 18 cases, the highest in the country.
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.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThere is a raft of misinformation circulating about the vaccine in rural Pakistan, including that it is a CIA plot to stop Muslims from having children.
The attack comes a month after the government rolled out an HPV vaccination drive to protect Pakistani girls from cervical cancer, which was plagued by misinformation.
With inputs from agencies
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