Two policemen martyred while guarding polio team in Noshki

QUETTA: Two police officers assigned to protect a polio vaccination team were martyred after unidentified gunmen opened fire in Noshki district of Balochistan on Tuesday.

The attack took place in Killi Jamalabad while security personnel were escorting the vaccination team during an ongoing anti-polio campaign. The deceased officers were identified as Muhammad Yasar and Abdul Rauf.

According to officials, the attackers took the policemen’s official weapons before fleeing the scene. Police later sealed off the area and launched a search operation to track down those responsible.

The attack occurred during a nationwide week-long polio vaccination campaign being conducted in 115 districts. More than 31 million children under the age of five are scheduled to receive polio drops, particularly in high-risk areas of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad.

Balochistan Special Assistant on Home Affairs Babar Yousafzai condemned the attack and said the killing of personnel protecting vaccination workers was an attack on the future of children in the province.

He said polio can cause permanent disability and vaccination remains an effective way to protect children from the disease. He added that health workers were visiting homes to protect children and their safety was a shared responsibility of the state and society.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the incident and expressed grief over the deaths of the two constables.

Naqvi paid tribute to Muhammad Yasar and Abdul Rauf, saying they were killed while performing their official duties. He described the attack on a team working to protect children from disease as a serious and condemnable act and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.

Repeated attacks on polio security teams

Security personnel accompanying polio vaccination teams have repeatedly come under attack in different parts of the country.

In May, two policemen were killed in separate incidents in Bajaur while a polio campaign was underway. In April, a police officer was killed and four others were injured in an attack targeting security personnel assigned to protect vaccination workers in Hangu.

Another policeman, Farman Bashir Behrani, was killed in Dera Murad Jamali in April while guarding a polio team. Earlier in February, a police officer died after being wounded in an attack on security personnel protecting vaccinators in Chaman.

Similar incidents were also reported in 2025, including attacks in Bajaur, Swat and Nowshera. A security official assigned to a polio team was also killed in Killi Jamalabad, Noshki, in May 2025.

Pakistan continues polio eradication efforts

Pakistan continues to face challenges in eliminating poliovirus, particularly in areas where insecurity and limited access prevent vaccination teams from reaching every child.

The latest reported case in 2026 was detected in an eight-month-old child from Bannu district, bringing the national tally to four. Three of the cases have been reported from Bannu Division.

Pakistan recorded 74 polio cases in 2024 and 31 in 2025. Health authorities continue to conduct vaccination campaigns in high-risk areas to prevent further transmission.