Suspected Militants Kill Police Officer Protecting Polio Workers in Pakistan

Suspected militants opened fire on a vehicle carrying police officers assigned to protect polio workers in Hangu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, northwestern Pakistan, on Tuesday. The attack killed one police officer and wounded four others. Police reported that two attackers were killed when officers returned fire, and the militants fled the scene.

The incident took place shortly after Pakistan launched its second nationwide anti-polio campaign of the year. The campaign aims to vaccinate more than 45 million children under the age of 5 across all provinces and regions. It is scheduled to last one week and involves door-to-door vaccination teams.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Police stated that suspicion falls on the Pakistani Taliban and local militant groups, which have conducted similar attacks in the region. Pakistan's polio eradication program has faced ongoing threats, with militants falsely claiming that vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.

Background on Polio Eradication Efforts Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio has not been eradicated, according to the World Health Organization.

In Pakistan, more than 200 polio workers and police officers assigned to protect them have been killed since the 1990s, officials reported. Authorities have deployed thousands of police officers to safeguard workers following intelligence warnings of possible attacks. First lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari urged families to ensure their children receive vaccinations during the campaign.

In a statement, she said Pakistan stands at a crucial moment in the fight against polio.