Berliner Boersenzeitung - Pakistan police officer killed as polio vaccination drive starts

EUR -
AED 3.788612
AFN 76.945002
ALL 98.849273
AMD 414.890949
ANG 1.871565
AOA 942.258814
ARS 1094.155059
AUD 1.644143
AWG 1.859254
AZN 1.758691
BAM 1.956219
BBD 2.096709
BDT 126.637146
BGN 1.958033
BHD 0.391476
BIF 3074.29941
BMD 1.031486
BND 1.402473
BOB 7.175538
BRL 5.994684
BSD 1.038402
BTN 90.838151
BWP 14.363801
BYN 3.398496
BYR 20217.127827
BZD 2.085907
CAD 1.479507
CDF 2944.89323
CHF 0.939996
CLF 0.025898
CLP 993.803767
CNY 7.536758
CNH 7.543898
COP 4273.147838
CRC 529.303201
CUC 1.031486
CUP 27.334382
CVE 110.288642
CZK 25.115655
DJF 184.926056
DKK 7.460221
DOP 64.432563
DZD 139.611221
EGP 51.904071
ERN 15.472292
ETB 132.884509
FJD 2.386139
FKP 0.849519
GBP 0.83174
GEL 2.867808
GGP 0.849519
GHS 16.044439
GIP 0.849519
GMD 74.267029
GNF 8977.750434
GTQ 8.02976
GYD 217.696666
HKD 8.033616
HNL 26.46616
HRK 7.611901
HTG 135.826483
HUF 405.718553
IDR 16862.270817
ILS 3.67452
IMP 0.849519
INR 90.345295
IQD 1360.391619
IRR 43425.565323
ISK 146.583897
JEP 0.849519
JMD 164.081992
JOD 0.731742
JPY 156.698726
KES 133.638961
KGS 90.203692
KHR 4171.813398
KMF 491.497131
KPW 928.337617
KRW 1497.918981
KWD 0.318286
KYD 0.865386
KZT 529.543515
LAK 22561.617672
LBP 92994.333092
LKR 308.683178
LRD 206.650292
LSL 19.141918
LTL 3.04571
LVL 0.623936
LYD 5.098994
MAD 10.390127
MDL 19.470985
MGA 4892.954002
MKD 61.548194
MMK 3350.226661
MNT 3504.989925
MOP 8.331586
MRU 41.590109
MUR 48.345642
MVR 15.894761
MWK 1800.651081
MXN 21.2236
MYR 4.608164
MZN 65.922638
NAD 19.142103
NGN 1553.748125
NIO 38.217451
NOK 11.608303
NPR 145.340338
NZD 1.822784
OMR 0.397688
PAB 1.038423
PEN 3.859227
PGK 4.170813
PHP 59.966991
PKR 289.7802
PLN 4.192894
PYG 8190.596959
QAR 3.786212
RON 4.974239
RSD 117.085099
RUB 100.736436
RWF 1464.185479
SAR 3.869208
SBD 8.712771
SCR 14.868999
SDG 619.923096
SEK 11.309688
SGD 1.397277
SHP 0.849519
SLE 23.456311
SLL 21629.747977
SOS 593.515721
SRD 36.210354
STD 21349.67999
SVC 9.086948
SYP 13411.382434
SZL 19.135731
THB 34.911702
TJS 11.366036
TMT 3.620516
TND 3.316411
TOP 2.41584
TRY 37.165842
TTD 7.04551
TWD 33.894119
TZS 2668.820352
UAH 43.040092
UGX 3813.817546
USD 1.031486
UYU 45.169902
UZS 13455.884459
VES 62.348724
VND 26173.960133
VUV 122.460103
WST 2.889014
XAF 656.08492
XAG 0.032203
XAU 0.000358
XCD 2.787643
XDR 0.796455
XOF 656.08492
XPF 119.331742
YER 256.891864
ZAR 19.107615
ZMK 9284.613892
ZMW 29.050664
ZWL 332.138108
  • AZN

    -0.3700

    71.99

    -0.51%

  • RBGPF

    67.2100

    67.21

    +100%

  • RIO

    -0.2400

    61.95

    -0.39%

  • NGG

    -0.1300

    61.54

    -0.21%

  • GSK

    -0.3400

    36.04

    -0.94%

  • SCS

    -0.2200

    11.36

    -1.94%

  • BTI

    0.1400

    41.76

    +0.34%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0300

    7.42

    -0.4%

  • CMSC

    -0.0700

    23.37

    -0.3%

  • RELX

    -0.4100

    49.99

    -0.82%

  • BCC

    -1.8300

    123.28

    -1.48%

  • VOD

    0.1300

    8.57

    +1.52%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    12.81

    -0.16%

  • BP

    0.3100

    32.27

    +0.96%

  • CMSD

    -0.0800

    23.75

    -0.34%

  • BCE

    -1.3800

    22.14

    -6.23%

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.

(P.Werner--BBZ)