Peshawar: Two police officers escorting polio vaccination teams were shot dead by suspected militants in north-western Pakistan on Tuesday, while another officer sustained injuries, officials said.
The attack took place in Mohmand district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghan border, as health workers carried out a door-to-door polio vaccination campaign.
According to police officer Ayaz Khan, the officers were travelling to a nearby village to provide security for vaccination teams when armed assailants riding motorcycles opened fire on them. The attackers fled the scene following the shooting. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, have repeatedly targeted polio vaccination campaigns and security personnel assigned to protect health workers. These groups have spread baseless claims that vaccination drives are part of a Western conspiracy to make children infertile.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack, describing it as “unacceptable”, and offered condolences to the families of the officers killed. He said the personnel had sacrificed their lives while working towards a healthier future for the country.
The attack comes as Pakistan has launched a nationwide polio vaccination drive aimed at immunising 24 million children. The campaign began on Monday as part of the country’s ongoing efforts to eradicate the highly infectious disease.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan remain the only two countries in the world where polio is still endemic.
