KARACHI: Police have arrested four men accused of assaulting members of a polio vaccination team during an anti-polio campaign in Karachi’s Federal B Area, officials said on Saturday.
The incident occurred in Block 14 of the locality, where the workers were attacked while administering vaccines to children. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Central Zeeshan Siddique said a case had been registered at the Joharabad Police Station.
The arrests come amid growing concerns over attacks targeting health workers and security personnel involved in the country’s polio eradication drive.
Earlier this month, on 10 October, a polio worker named Rehmanullah, 30, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on the Super Highway while travelling to Surjani Town. He was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
Just days later, on 15 October, militants killed a police officer assigned to guard a polio team in Nowshera District during the third day of a nationwide campaign targeting 45 million children. The attack was claimed by Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, a local offshoot of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
A day earlier, a Levies constable was killed in Swat District when gunmen opened fire on him while he was protecting a polio team working inside a house.
Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio is still endemic. Dozens of polio workers and security officials have been killed over the past decade amid militant opposition to vaccination efforts.
Health officials reported 74 polio cases in 2024, up sharply from six the previous year. So far in 2025, 29 infections have been confirmed, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounting for the majority.
Polio primarily affects children under five and can cause permanent paralysis, but it is preventable through a few oral doses of vaccine. However, misinformation and conspiracy theories, including false claims linking the vaccine to foreign intelligence plots, continue to hinder eradication efforts in parts of rural Pakistan.
