PESHAWAR (AFP) – More than 100 Pakistan police who provide security for polio vaccination teams in restive border areas went on strike yesterday after a string of deadly militant attacks this week.
Police officers who are routinely deployed to protect polio workers going door-to-door frequently come under attack by militants waging a war against security forces.
Hundreds of police and polio workers have been killed over the past decade.
“Any constable who learns of the protest is leaving their polio duty to join the demonstration,” said a police officer at the sit-in who asked not to be named.
He told AFP that negotiations have failed between the protesting police and senior officials in Bannu district, in the northwestern border province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Since the launch of the latest vaccination drive on Monday, at least two police officers and one polio worker have been shot dead in separate attacks in rural districts near the border with Afghanistan, including one officer escorting a team yesterday. Nine people were also wounded on Monday in a bomb attack on a polio vaccination team claimed by the Islamic State group.
In the latest attack, two motorcyclists opened fire on the police officer.
“The polio team was in a nearby street at the time, so they remained unharmed,” Ziauddin Ahmed, the district police officer, told AFP.
Pakistan has seen a surge in polio cases this year, recording 17 cases so far in 2024, compared to six in 2023.
Health officials had aimed to vaccinate 30 million children in a week-long campaign.
“A partial polio campaign is underway here, but many police officials have abandoned their duties to join the sit-in,” another protesting police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
