Two Police Officers Killed in Pakistan During Polio Vaccination Campaign Attack

Two police officers were killed in Pakistan’s Bajaur district while protecting health workers during a polio vaccination campaign. Militants reportedly carried out the attacks on the first day of the nationwide drive. Authorities condemned the killings and said investigations are ongoing, amid continued security challenges facing Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts.

Two police officers have been killed in Pakistan’s northwestern Bajaur district after militants attacked security personnel protecting health workers during a nationwide polio vaccination campaign, officials said.
According to security authorities, the attacks happened on Monday in two separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, an area bordering Afghanistan that has long faced militant activity and security challenges. The officers were assigned to escort and safeguard vaccination teams administering polio drops to children as part of a government-led public health drive.
Officials said the attackers, believed to be riding motorcycles, targeted the officers in different locations within Bajaur. The killings occurred on the first day of a week-long immunisation campaign covering 79 high-risk districts across Pakistan, with the aim of vaccinating more than 19 million children under five.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attacks and extended condolences to the families of the slain officers, describing them as part of ongoing sacrifices made by security personnel in the fight against militancy and preventable disease.
Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts have repeatedly faced resistance from militant groups, particularly in remote and conflict-affected regions. Health workers and their escorts are often targeted during vaccination drives, forcing authorities to deploy police and military protection teams.
Officials and health experts say misinformation has played a major role in undermining vaccination campaigns. False claims that polio vaccines are part of foreign plots to harm or sterilise Muslim children have circulated in rural communities, sometimes fuelled by extremist propaganda, leading to vaccine hesitancy and hostility toward health teams.
Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that mainly affects children under five. While it has no cure, it can be prevented through multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, which has been instrumental in reducing global cases by more than 99% since the launch of worldwide eradication efforts.
Before vaccines were widely available, poliovirus caused paralysis and death in hundreds of thousands of people annually. Despite major progress globally, Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan remain the only two countries where wild poliovirus transmission has not been completely stopped.
Pakistan has invested heavily in eradication programmes over the years, spending an estimated $10 billion since 2011 on immunisation and related efforts. However, security challenges, political instability, and misinformation have repeatedly disrupted progress.
In recent years, the country has made progress toward elimination, with only a handful of cases reported in some years. However, resurgence has occurred, with 73 cases recorded in 2024, 31 in 2025, and at least one case already confirmed in 2026, according to health data.
Despite these setbacks, authorities say vaccination campaigns remain critical to preventing outbreaks and protecting millions of children. The latest attacks highlight the continuing risks faced by health workers and security personnel in efforts to eradicate the disease in volatile regions.