Zürcher Nachrichten - Pakistan police officer killed as polio vaccination drive starts

EUR -
AED 4.293297
AFN 80.91457
ALL 97.787182
AMD 448.803483
ANG 2.093049
AOA 1072.008381
ARS 1467.658759
AUD 1.776114
AWG 2.107191
AZN 1.992006
BAM 1.954944
BBD 2.359867
BDT 142.117771
BGN 1.954944
BHD 0.440607
BIF 3482.375178
BMD 1.169038
BND 1.495545
BOB 8.093456
BRL 6.502078
BSD 1.168788
BTN 100.194128
BWP 15.604167
BYN 3.824825
BYR 22913.14706
BZD 2.347672
CAD 1.60129
CDF 3373.844424
CHF 0.929041
CLF 0.028934
CLP 1110.323824
CNY 8.380309
CNH 8.386416
COP 4691.84559
CRC 589.441902
CUC 1.169038
CUP 30.97951
CVE 110.21674
CZK 24.665189
DJF 208.128867
DKK 7.461795
DOP 70.379183
DZD 151.705573
EGP 57.855667
ERN 17.535572
ETB 161.021794
FJD 2.621276
FKP 0.865592
GBP 0.864385
GEL 3.16855
GGP 0.865592
GHS 12.154678
GIP 0.865592
GMD 83.590727
GNF 10140.559771
GTQ 8.978069
GYD 244.522931
HKD 9.175551
HNL 30.573613
HRK 7.533988
HTG 153.40283
HUF 399.5543
IDR 18972.787189
ILS 3.894218
IMP 0.865592
INR 100.333285
IQD 1531.029611
IRR 49231.122092
ISK 142.400984
JEP 0.865592
JMD 186.898163
JOD 0.828894
JPY 171.328427
KES 151.00388
KGS 102.232832
KHR 4685.948172
KMF 492.340851
KPW 1052.134304
KRW 1612.291055
KWD 0.357481
KYD 0.973974
KZT 610.66261
LAK 25187.970987
LBP 104720.046415
LKR 351.4761
LRD 234.337391
LSL 20.841074
LTL 3.451866
LVL 0.70714
LYD 6.314235
MAD 10.527091
MDL 19.787336
MGA 5177.732835
MKD 61.508068
MMK 2454.436143
MNT 4192.33892
MOP 9.450262
MRU 46.492642
MUR 53.144915
MVR 18.007558
MWK 2026.612611
MXN 21.771042
MYR 4.971339
MZN 74.772119
NAD 20.841074
NGN 1786.89858
NIO 43.011167
NOK 11.839321
NPR 160.310805
NZD 1.940152
OMR 0.449493
PAB 1.168788
PEN 4.144385
PGK 4.831884
PHP 66.037214
PKR 332.363469
PLN 4.253138
PYG 9058.033774
QAR 4.260834
RON 5.081579
RSD 117.098726
RUB 91.210062
RWF 1688.860502
SAR 4.384482
SBD 9.733981
SCR 16.480784
SDG 702.011685
SEK 11.176827
SGD 1.494854
SHP 0.91868
SLE 26.307644
SLL 24514.149043
SOS 667.907544
SRD 43.49699
STD 24196.728708
SVC 10.226522
SYP 15199.664267
SZL 20.847871
THB 37.929486
TJS 11.295954
TMT 4.103324
TND 3.419503
TOP 2.738009
TRY 46.93731
TTD 7.940523
TWD 34.1849
TZS 3029.973271
UAH 48.831018
UGX 4189.165697
USD 1.169038
UYU 47.259307
UZS 14766.534203
VES 133.584256
VND 30528.845862
VUV 139.872984
WST 3.045943
XAF 655.669903
XAG 0.030452
XAU 0.000348
XCD 3.159384
XDR 0.815443
XOF 655.669903
XPF 119.331742
YER 282.732293
ZAR 20.949587
ZMK 10522.750076
ZMW 27.056153
ZWL 376.429796
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Pakistan police officer killed as polio vaccination drive starts
Pakistan police officer killed as polio vaccination drive starts / Photo: Abdul MAJEED - AFP/File

Pakistan police officer killed as polio vaccination drive starts

A Pakistan police officer travelling to guard polio vaccinators was shot dead Monday, police said, on the first day of a nationwide immunisation effort after a year of rising cases.

Text size:

The officer was travelling to guard polio vaccinators in the area of Jamrud town in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when he was killed, local police official Zarmat Khan told AFP.

"Two motorcycle riders opened fire on him," he said. "The constable died instantly at the scene."

Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan are the only countries where polio is endemic and militants have for decades targeted vaccination teams and their security escorts.

Pakistan reported at least 73 polio infections in 2024, a significant increase compared to just six cases in 2023.

The vaccination campaign which started on Monday is the first of the year and is due to last a week.

"Despite the incident, the polio vaccination drive in the area remains ongoing," Khan said.

Abdul Hameed Afridi, another senior police official in the area, also confirmed details of the attack and said officers have "launched an investigation".

No group immediately claimed responsibility, however Khyber Pakhtunkhwa -- which neighbours Afghanistan -- is a hive of militant activity.

The Pakistani Taliban are the most active group in the area.

Polio can easily be prevented by the oral administration of a few drops of vaccine, but scores of vaccination workers and their escorts have been killed over the years.

In the past, clerics falsely claimed that the vaccine contained pork or alcohol, declaring it forbidden for Muslims.

In more recent years the attacks have focused on vulnerable police escorts accompanying the vaccinators as they go door-to-door.

Last year, dozens of Pakistani policemen who accompany medical teams on campaigns went on strike after a string of militant attacks targeting them.

Pakistan has witnessed rising militant attacks since the Taliban returned to power in neighbouring Afghanistan.

More than 1,600 people were killed in attacks in 2024 -- the deadliest year in almost a decade -- according to the Center for Research and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based analysis group.

Islamabad accuses Kabul's new rulers of failing to rout militants organising on Afghan soil, a charge the Taliban government routinely denies.

In November, at least seven people -- including five children -- were killed in a bombing targeting police gathered to guard vaccinators near a school in southwestern Balochistan province.

Balochistan -- which also neighbours Afghanistan -- was the area with the largest number of polio cases in 2024, despite being the most sparsely populated.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Sunday last year's polio eradication efforts faced "a major setback".

"We must eradicate polio from Pakistan at any cost," he said as he launched the new vaccination drive.

T.Gerber--NZN