PM calls for coordinated efforts to eradicate polio as Pakistan reports ninth case

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported its ninth polio case of the year, involving a child from Khyber district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as attacks on security personnel guarding vaccination teams and the abduction of polio workers have highlighted the security challenges facing the nationwide eradication campaign.

The latest case was confirmed at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday to review the country’s polio eradication efforts.

The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) had confirmed a case from Khyber district on November 1, but the prime minister was informed on Thursday of another infection from the district.

The latest case takes the number of polio infections reported in Pakistan this year to nine, including seven in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two in Sindh.

The new development comes two days after two policemen protecting a polio vaccination team were martyred and another was injured in a shooting in Mohmand district on November 3.

On the same day, four polio workers were abducted at gunpoint from Sheikh Otar village in Tank district.

Police said the shooting took place in the Dog Tamanzai area of Mohmand as the officers were heading to provide security for the vaccination campaign. The injured policeman was taken to hospital, while a search operation was launched to arrest those responsible.

In a separate incident, armed men abducted four members of a polio team in Tank.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the abduction and called for immediate efforts to secure the workers’ safe recovery.

The incidents underscore the risks faced by vaccination teams and their security escorts, particularly in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where attacks, abductions and the seizure of vaccination supplies have been reported.

Seven cases in KP

At Thursday’s meeting, officials told the prime minister that three cases each had been reported from Khyber and Bannu districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while North Waziristan had reported one.

The briefing said all polio cases reported from Khyber district were linked to the poliovirus circulating in Afghanistan.

Sindh has reported two cases this year, one each from Karachi East and Sujawal districts.

Officials also informed the meeting that no new polio case had been reported in Punjab since February 2025, while Balochistan had reported no cases in 2025 or 2026. Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan were also described as polio-free.

The briefing identified cross-border movement from Afghanistan as a major factor contributing to the spread of the virus in Pakistan. Officials also reported a decline in the quantity of poliovirus detected in environmental samples in Sindh this year.

More than 24m children targeted

A nationwide vaccination campaign launched on November 2 aims to immunise more than 24 million children under the age of five in 97 selected districts. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the campaign is targeting more than 4.8 million children across 27 districts.

The drive is scheduled to continue until November 8. The NEOC has urged parents to ensure that all children under five receive oral polio vaccine doses during the campaign and subsequent rounds.

Officials told the prime minister that measures were being taken to improve security for vaccination teams and ensure their access to the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Shehbaz expressed concern over the latest case and said eliminating polio remained a major challenge, but stressed that the government’s resolve was stronger.

He called for a coordinated strategy involving provincial governments and all relevant stakeholders to eradicate the disease, while praising frontline vaccination workers and law enforcement personnel for their efforts.

The prime minister said the safety of vaccination workers and their uninterrupted access to children were among the government’s top priorities. He directed authorities to improve routine immunisation coverage, particularly in areas affected by polio or considered at high risk.

He also instructed the federal minister, minister of state, health secretary and members of the polio eradication team to visit all four provinces immediately and meet the chief ministers and chief secretaries to review the campaign.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, National Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Minister of State for National Health Services Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharth and the prime minister’s focal person on polio eradication, Ayesha Raza Farooq, among other officials.