ANTI-VAXXERS
Gunmen kill policemen guarding polio vaccinators in Pakistan
03.11.2026
Gunmen shot and killed two policemen deployed on security detail for polio vaccinators near the Afghan border on Tuesday as health workers carry out a door-to-door vaccination drive in Pakistan.
The attack occurred in the Mohmand district of the north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, police official Shakeel Khan said.
“At least two policemen were killed and another was wounded in the attack,” Khan said. The health workers remained unharmed, but drive has been halted temporarily.
Meanwhile in a separate incident, at least four health workers on vaccination duty went missing from Tank district of the province.
The latest attacks come on the second day of a sub-national polio vaccination campaign that aims to protect around 24 million children in 97 high-risk districts across the country.
The Health Ministry said that the vaccination campaign will be “implemented simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan – the last two endemic countries in the world for wild poliovirus – and supported by strong cross-border coordination."
On Sunday, the country reported the eighth polio case of the year.
Officials say thousands of children miss their vaccination due to the surge in violence, which has resulted in a resurgence of the crippling disease.
Militants linked with al-Qaeda often attack health workers. Dozens of vaccine handlers and security officials have been killed by Taliban militants in the past.
The militants accuse the health workers of acting as spies and claim the polio vaccine is intended to make Muslim children sterile.
Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan are among the few countries in the world where new polio cases still surface.
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