QUETTA: Gunmen attacked a vehicle and abducted two polio workers who were on their way home after visiting a health facility in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to local police.
The kidnapping happened ahead of a nationwide anti-polio campaign which will begin on April 21 to vaccinate 45 million children.
“Raza Muhammad and Muhammad Asif were kidnapped at gunpoint by unknown persons and taken away,” police said in a statement, which said they had been returning from a training for the upcoming vaccination campaign.
It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind the abductions but authorities have previously blamed militants for such attacks.
Insurgents falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children despite the government and medical experts’ vehement denials.
Pakistan has reported six new cases of polio since January.
According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only two countries where the potentially fatal, paralyzing virus has not been eradicated.
Gunmen abduct two polio vaccinators in Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan district
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Gunmen abduct two polio vaccinators in Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan district
- Kidnapping happened ahead of nationwide anti-polio campaign which will begin on April 21 to vaccinate 45 million children
- Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain only two countries where paralyzing polio virus has not been eradicated
Pakistan to hold mandatory training for Hajj pilgrims on Thursday
- Day-long training being held to ensure intending pilgrims are aware of Hajj rituals, administrative matters, says state media
- Religion ministry says experienced “master trainers” and scholars from the ministry and Hajj camps will provide training
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religion ministry has announced that a mandatory training program for Hajj 2026 pilgrims will begin from Thursday, state media reported this week as Islamabad gears up for the annual Islamic pilgrimage.
The announcement was made by Dr. Syed Atta ur Rehman, the federal secretary of religious affairs, while he chaired a meeting of the Curriculum Committee for Hajj Training in Islamabad on Monday, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
“The day-long training will be mandatory for all intending pilgrims as per their schedule, which will be communicated to them through Pak Hajj mobile app, website and SMS,” Radio Pakistan said.
The state media said the ministry has made the training mandatory to make intending pilgrims aware of Hajj rituals and administrative matters.
“Experienced master trainers and scholars from the ministry and Hajj camps will provide training through multimedia,” it said.
Saudi Arabia allocated Pakistan a quota of 179,210 pilgrims earlier this year for Hajj 2026. Of these, around 118,000 seats have been allocated to the government scheme and the rest to private tour operators.
Under Pakistan’s Hajj scheme, the estimated cost of the government package ranges from Rs1,150,000 to Rs1,250,000 [$4,049.93 to $4,236], subject to final agreements with service providers.
