NOWSHERA: A police officer was killed on Wednesday while providing security to a polio vaccination team in Nowshera district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, authorities confirmed.
The officer was targeted by two armed militants during the third day of a nationwide anti-polio immunisation campaign, which aims to vaccinate over 45 million children under the age of five. Local police official Bilal Khan said the officer was killed instantly, but the vaccination team remained unharmed.
The attack was claimed by Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, a local faction linked to the Pakistani Taliban.
Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only countries where polio is still endemic. Militants in Pakistan have frequently targeted health workers and their security personnel, resulting in hundreds of deaths over the past decade.
The country recorded a spike in polio infections last year, reporting 74 cases compared to six in 2023. This year, 29 cases have been reported so far, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone accounting for 18, the highest in the country.
The attack underscores ongoing security challenges faced by health teams in high-risk regions, even as authorities continue door-to-door campaigns to eradicate the virus.
