Bajaur/Islamabad, December 16, 2025: At least two people, including a police constable, were killed on Tuesday after unidentified assailants opened fire on a polio vaccination team in the Salarzai tehsil of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district, police said.
The attack occurred in the Thangi area of Salarzai on the second day of the nationwide polio campaign, which was launched a day earlier and is scheduled to continue until December 21 as the final drive of 2025.
Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Israr Khan confirmed that the deceased included a policeman assigned to guard the vaccination team and a civilian passerby. The martyred officer was identified as Constable Sajad Ahmed, who succumbed to critical injuries sustained in the attack.
According to Khan, the civilian was shot dead when he attempted to chase the fleeing attackers. “Local residents also confirmed the account, while the assailants managed to escape,” he said, adding that a search operation was underway in the area. He confirmed that no polio workers were harmed in the incident.
Polio vaccination teams, which go door-to-door to inoculate children under the age of five, have frequently been targeted by militants, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. In 2024 alone, at least 20 people were killed and 53 injured in attacks linked to anti-polio campaigns in KP.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the Bajaur attack.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi strongly condemned the incident, extending condolences to the families of the deceased. In a statement shared on X by his digital media spokesperson, the chief minister said polio workers and the security personnel protecting them were performing a vital national duty.
He described the attack as “an assault on humanity and national responsibility,” and vowed that the vaccination campaign would not be allowed to suffer any disruption.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack, expressing grief over the death of the police constable, according to state broadcaster PTV. The premier pledged to bring those responsible to justice and reiterated that the anti-polio drive would continue until the virus is eradicated from the country. He also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
In October, a Levies constable deployed to protect a polio team was killed in a similar attack in Swat, highlighting persistent security challenges surrounding vaccination efforts.
According to official data cited in a November 9 report, at least 96 people have been killed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa since 2012 in attacks related to polio campaigns, including 61 policemen, 27 health workers and five civilians. During the same period, 170 people — among them 124 policemen, 28 health workers and 21 civilians — were injured, while 36 individuals were kidnapped during vaccination drives.
Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio is still endemic. So far this year, the country has reported 30 polio cases, with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa accounting for the highest number at 19.
Security threats, vaccine hesitancy and misinformation continue to pose major challenges to eradication efforts. Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause permanent paralysis, but health experts stress that repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine for every child under five remain the most effective protection.
