Two policemen were martyred and another injured when unidentified attackers targeted a security team travelling to perform polio vaccination duties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mohmand district, police officials said.
Headquarters Deputy Superintendent of Police Liaquat Ali confirmed that the attack took place near the Hashim Kor police checkpost in the Dag Tamanzai area of Pindiali tehsil.
The martyred personnel were identified as Constables Zahoor Khan and Arbai Khan, while the injured policeman was named as Sepoy Sabir Khan.
Funeral prayers for the two martyred policemen were held later at the Police Lines in Ghalanai. The ceremony was attended by the Commandant of Mohmand Rifles, the deputy commissioner, the district police officer, other government officials and local residents.
Senior officials laid floral wreaths on the bodies and offered condolences to the bereaved families, paying tribute to the policemen for their sacrifices.
Separately, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi took notice of reports that four polio workers had been abducted in Tank district and directed the relevant authorities to take immediate and effective measures to ensure their safe recovery.
According to police, the abduction took place on Monday.
In a statement issued by his office on Tuesday, the governor described the incident as deeply regrettable and condemnable.
He said polio workers were performing a national responsibility by protecting children and promoting public health, adding that the government was obligated to ensure the security of vaccination teams.
Kundi further said targeting polio workers was against humanity and the national interest.
The incidents come as a sub-national polio vaccination campaign began across Pakistan on Sunday, aiming to immunise nearly 24 million children in 97 high-risk districts.
Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries where polio is endemic.
On Sunday, Pakistan reported its eighth polio case of the year after the virus was detected in a 13-month-old girl from Khyber district in KP.
Of the eight cases reported so far, six have been recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including four in Bannu division, while the remaining two were reported in Sindh.
In July, Pakistan informed the global Independent Monitoring Board that the country had entered a critical phase in its decades-long campaign to eradicate polio. Officials said the virus had been confined to a shrinking number of high-risk areas but warned that persistent insecurity, particularly in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, remained a major obstacle to reaching every child.
Security personnel and vaccination teams have faced repeated attacks in recent months.
In September, two policemen were martyred when armed assailants opened fire on a polio vaccination team in Balochistan’s Noshki district. Earlier, in April, a police constable was martyred and four others injured in an attack on a security team travelling to provide protection for polio workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu district.
