2 policemen guarding polio team shot dead in KP’s Orakzai

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where polio remains endemic, and vaccination teams are frequently targeted by militants waging a campaign against the security forces.

Two policemen guarding a polio vaccination team were shot dead by militants in the Orakzai district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday, and two assailants were also killed, according to the police. 

On Monday, Pakistan launched a week-long vaccination campaign aimed at immunising more than 45 million children under the age of five.

Malik Sikandar, a senior police officer in Orakzai, toldAFP: ‘Two militants attacked policemen standing guard: ’Two militants attacked policemen guarding a polio vaccination team.

‘One policeman died at the scene while the second succumbed to his injuries’ on the way to hospital, he told to AFP, adding that the police pursued and killed the two assailants and a local accomplice.

Another police official, Naveedullah Khan, confirmed the death and told  AFP that two vaccinators from the team ‘were inside the house during the attack and remained unharmed’.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Kurdistan province, which has long been a hotbed of militant activity.

President Zardari condemns polio attack in Orakzai

President Asif Ali Zardari has condemned the attack on the polio team, expressing his sorrow for the martyrdom of the policemen. He reiterated the government’s determination to continue its efforts towards the complete eradication of polio in the country.

Pakistan has seen a sharp increase in the number of polio cases this year, with 41 cases so far in 2024, compared with six in 2023.

Polio vaccination teams, made up of health workers and police guards, have often come under attack in the restive mountainous regions bordering Afghanistan.

Last month, dozens of police officers, who accompany medical teams on door-to-door campaigns, went on strike in the Bannu district after a series of militant attacks against them.

Prior to this strike, a policeman and an immunisation worker were shot dead in the tehsil of Salarzai, in the Bajaur district, when unknown assailants attacked a polio vaccination team.

Dozens of polio vaccinators and their escorts have been killed over the years. Since 2012, 126 people have been killed and 201 injured in attacks targeting health workers and polio programme officials, according to a report byDawn published last month.