Wed Apr 23 16:57:24 UTC 2025: ## Pakistan Polio Vaccination Campaign Hampered by Deadly Attack
**Quetta, Pakistan –** Two Pakistani police officers providing security for a polio vaccination team were killed in Balochistan province on Wednesday, officials said. The attack, the second this week, targeted the officers guarding health workers in the Teeri area of Mastung district. While the health workers were unharmed, the incident highlights the ongoing dangers faced by vaccination teams in Pakistan, where polio remains endemic.
The gunmen, riding motorcycles, killed one officer on the site and the other succumbed to injuries at a hospital. No group has claimed responsibility, but the attack follows a similar incident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province earlier this week. Over the past decade, hundreds of police and health workers have been killed while supporting vaccination efforts.
Despite the violence, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to continue the nationwide campaign, which aims to vaccinate over 45 million children. Pakistan saw a surge in polio cases last year, with 74 infections, compared to just six in 2023. This year, seven cases have already been reported.
The ongoing violence stems from long-standing militant opposition to vaccination efforts, fueled by past mistrust stemming from conspiracies and the 2011 US vaccination campaign. Balochistan, the province where the latest attack occurred, is particularly challenging, experiencing the highest number of polio cases last year and being embroiled in separatist conflicts. The region’s instability, exacerbated by the Taliban’s return to power in neighboring Afghanistan, further complicates vaccination efforts.
First Piper 