Diamer: polio survey team attacked over presence of female members

GILGIT: A team conducting a validation survey for a polio vaccination campaign was allegedly attacked and threatened by unidentified armed men in Tangir, an additional district of Diamer, on Sunday over the presence of female team members, officials confirmed.

According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed at the Jaglot Police Station, the incident occurred as the team was returning from Shakho Tangir after completing its assigned fieldwork.

The polio team, comprising Zonal Trainer Bilal, health worker Kainat Hussain (daughter of Hussainullah), and drivers Adnan Hussain, Iqbal Hussain, and Muhammad Hussain — arrived in the area two days earlier to conduct routine verification of vaccination coverage.

As per the FIR, the team was returning via the Ric Bridge at approximately 2:45 PM when two armed individuals intercepted their vehicle and issued verbal threats. The attackers accused the team of “bringing unveiled women from Gilgit” and “disturbing the cultural environment” of the region. One of the assailants then opened fire at the vehicle, damaging one of the tires before both suspects fled toward the nearby mountains.

Gilgit Baltistan reports first polio case in seven years

‘Not an anti-polio attack’

Speaking on the incident, Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq clarified that the attack was not an act of opposition to the polio campaign, but rather stemmed from objections over the public presence of female team members. “The polio team had entered Tangir without prior coordination. Ideally, the team should have informed the district administration and police,” he said.

He confirmed that all team members, including Bilal, Kainat, Adnan, and Iqbal, remained unharmed and were immediately moved to a safe location following the attack.

Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan has taken notice of the incident and directed the police to take strict measures to apprehend the unidentified assailants.

Faraq assured that the polio campaign would continue as planned and that the district administration would enhance security arrangements to protect health workers operating in sensitive areas.

“The attack was not on a polio team but on a third-party validation team that inspects the polio drive results,” G-B Health Secretary Asifullah told HUM News English, adding, “if it was against polio vaccination, it would have been done during the polio drive, which successfully concluded on May 30.”

He said it was the third successful polio vaccination drive. “So far, in any valley of Diamer, no collective opposition to polio [vaccination] has been made by any organisation or group, nor has any incident of stopping or targeting a polio team taken place. However, individual refusals do emerge, which are resolved through dialogue,” he added.

He explained that the incident may appear to be against the polio drive, but the actual objection was to the presence of a mixed-gender (male-female) team, not to vaccination itself. Asifullah said the armed assailants arrived on motorcycles, stopped the team’s vehicle, forced them out, raised objections, and then fled after firing at the vehicle’s tires.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) hires a third party to validate our work. We are not informed about their visits, nor do we know when they come. The team includes male and female university students who go door-to-door to verify our work – this is what they [the attackers] objected to,” the secretary added.

First polio case in seven years

The incident comes on the heels of a confirmed wild poliovirus (WPV-1) case in Tangir’s Gabar Valley—marking the first such case reported in Gilgit-Baltistan in seven years.

The Gilgit-Baltistan Health Department issued an update on the case, stating that it had conducted a field investigation in coordination with WHO officials within a 500-meter radius of the infected child’s home. During the survey, it was found that the child had not received any routine immunisations, though he had taken more than seven doses under the Special Immunization Activities (SIA). His father had reportedly traveled to Punjab for religious preaching during Ramazan.

Health officials reported that the child has now recovered, can walk independently, and is able to move both arms and legs—likely due to partial protection from the SIA doses despite missing routine vaccinations. The wild poliovirus (WPV-1) was detected through stool samples analysed at the Regional Reference Lab in Islamabad.

In response to the case, the Health Department has announced plans to improve monitoring at permanent transit points in Diamer, conduct one or two targeted polio campaigns in the affected area of Gabar, intensify early detection and response efforts, and retrain healthcare personnel to report all suspected Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) cases promptly.