Peshawar, April 21, 2025: A police constable was martyred and a terrorist killed in an exchange of fire during an attack on security personnel guarding a polio vaccination team in South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to police sources, the constable was on duty as part of the ongoing polio immunization campaign when the assault took place. Security forces responded promptly, resulting in the death of one assailant.
Authorities recovered a rocket launcher, a machine gun, two motorcycles, a national identity card, three ATM cards, and a smartphone from the deceased militant. A case has been registered at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Azam Warsak police station.
The attack occurred just a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched the second nationwide polio eradication drive of the year, scheduled from April 21 to 27.
Pakistan, along with Afghanistan, remains one of the only two countries where polio remains endemic. Polio vaccination teams have frequently been targeted by militants, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In 2024 alone, anti-polio campaign-related violence claimed 20 lives and injured 53 others in the province.
This latest incident follows a similar attack in February, when a police officer was martyred in Bajaur district while en route to his duty post for a polio campaign. Gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire, killing him on the spot.
