• Four others hurt on the first day of vaccination campaign
• Country steps up drive to immunise 45m children despite threats
PESHAWAR / ISLAMABAD: A police constable was martyred and four others were injured in an attack on a law enforcement party en route to provide security for polio teams in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday, as the country launched its second nationwide polio vaccination campaign of the year.
The incident took place in Hangu’s Thall tehsil on the first day of the nationwide campaign, which is running from April 13 to 19. The attack marks this year’s first on law enforcement personnel deployed for the security of polio teams.
In a statement, the Hangu district police said that “terrorists opened sudden fire on a police party”, resulting in the martyrdom of one policeman and injuries to four others. The injured personnel were immediately taken to hospital.
The police team retaliated promptly, with Kohat DIG Irfan Tariq stating that there were “reports of two terrorists’ deaths as a result”. However, the attackers managed to remove the bodies of their accomplices from the scene.
According to the police statement, DIG Tariq commended the personnel’s bravery in “thwarting the terrorists’ attack” and asserted that the assailants would not be forgiven under any circumstances. Following the incident, a search operation was launched, with security forces continuing efforts to trace the attackers.
Police officials emphasised that the ongoing polio campaign in Hangu would continue as planned, adding that terrorists could not demoralise the nation.
KP CM slams attack
KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi condemned the attack and sought a report from the provincial police chief. In a statement issued by his office, he said that “targeting personnel on national duty is an extremely cowardly act” and insisted that terrorists would never succeed in their nefarious aims.
Expressing grief over the death of the police constable, the chief minister affirmed that the provincial government would provide every possible support to the bereaved family. He also directed that the injured officers be given the best available medical facilities, adding that the KP government and the public were “on the same page in the war against terrorism”.
Polio vaccinators, who go door to door to immunise children, are frequently targeted by militants, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Vaccination campaign
During the campaign, which will continue until April 19, more than 400,000 frontline health workers will go door to door across Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Islamabad to ensure that every child is vaccinated, including those in the most remote and high-risk areas.
Vitamin A supplements will also be administered to help strengthen children’s overall health and immunity. The drive is being carried out in coordination with Afghanistan as part of joint efforts to curb the cross-border spread of the virus.
According to the head of the polio programme, Anwarul Haq, Pakistan has made significant progress. In 2026, the poliovirus has been detected in 23 of 87 districts, compared to 82 districts in 2025. The number of positive environmental samples has also dropped sharply, from 651 in 2025 to 40 so far in 2026.
Despite this progress, challenges remain. Pakistan reported 31 polio cases in 2025, while one case has been confirmed so far in 2026 from Sujawal, Sindh. These cases serve as a reminder that as long as the virus persists anywhere, children in Pakistan remain at risk.
The prime minister’s focal person on polio eradication, Ayesha Raza Farooq, said Pakistan was “closer than ever to ending polio”, but stressed that this was also the most critical stage of the effort. She noted that polio caused lifelong disability and had no cure, but was entirely preventable.
The campaign, she added, aimed to ensure every child under the age of five received two drops of the vaccine to close remaining immunity gaps and bring the country closer to the finish line.
“Protecting every child through vaccination is the safest and most effective way to stop the virus. The government urges all parents and caregivers to support vaccination teams and ensure every child under five receives polio drops,” she said.
Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2026