PESHAWAR: Two police officers protecting polio vaccination teams were killed and four health workers abducted in separate incidents in northwestern Pakistan, officials said on Tuesday, as the country launched a major immunization drive following its eighth polio case of the year.

The attacks highlight persistent security threats to Pakistan’s efforts to eradicate the crippling disease, which remains endemic only in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan. The latest campaign aims to vaccinate nearly 24 million children under five across 97 districts from Nov. 2 to 8.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s Mohmand district, gunmen opened fire on police personnel guarding a vaccination team, killing two officers and wounding another, according to statements from provincial Governor Faisal Karim Kundi and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

“The firing incident targeting police personnel deployed to protect a polio team is intolerable,” Naqvi said in a statement.

He paid tribute to the slain officers and said those responsible for the attack should be brought to justice.

In a separate incident in Tank district, four polio workers were abducted by unidentified armed men, prompting Kundi to call for their immediate and safe recovery.

“The abduction of polio workers is an extremely regrettable and condemnable incident,” Kundi said in a statement.

He said ensuring the safety of vaccination teams was the government’s responsibility and called for effective measures to protect health workers and security personnel during the campaign.

Polio vaccination teams and their police escorts have faced repeated attacks in Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where militants have targeted immunization drives amid longstanding misinformation and suspicion surrounding vaccines.

The latest incidents came two days after Pakistan confirmed its eighth polio case of 2026, involving a 13-month-old girl in Khyber district, according to the National Emergency Operations Center for Polio Eradication.

Six of this year’s eight cases have been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with the remaining two in Sindh province.

Although infections have declined sharply from previous years, the virus continues to circulate in high-risk areas, posing a threat to children who miss vaccination.

Pakistan reported 31 polio cases in 2025, down from 74 in 2024, according to government figures.

The National Emergency Operations Center said more than 6.68 million children received polio drops on Monday, the first day of the latest campaign, which involves over 200,000 health workers going door to door.

More than 1.37 million children were vaccinated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone on the opening day, it added.

Polio is a highly infectious disease that can cause irreversible paralysis, particularly in children under five. There is no cure, but repeated vaccination can prevent infection.

Pakistan’s eradication program has urged parents to ensure their children receive polio drops during every vaccination campaign, warning that continued transmission puts unvaccinated children at risk.