Six arrested following attack on polio team in Pakistan metropolis

A vaccination team and accompanying police officers were attacked in an informal settlement in Pakistan's largest metropolis Karachi on Friday.

The violence occurred near Rangers Ground in the city's underdeveloped Korangi locality during a routine vaccination campaign targeting children under five. According to local authorities, members of a tribal family refused the vaccine and responded aggressively when approached by the health workers and their police escorts.

Initially, women inside the home physically confronted the polio workers and police officers. The situation escalated when male members of the household, allegedly armed, joined the altercation. Additional individuals from the neighborhood reportedly joined in as well, throwing stones at the police and vaccination team.

Police reinforcements, led by the Korangi Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and supported by female police officers and paramilitary Rangers, arrived to restore order. Four women and two young men were detained following the clash. Two shovels were confiscated as part of the police investigation.

Government's response

The detained individuals, identified as Samina, Mahjabeen, Amna, Iqra, Gul Imran, and Sufyan, face charges under various sections of Pakistan’s Penal Code, including rioting, obstructing public servants, and assault.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah condemned the incident, reaffirming the government’s zero-tolerance policy toward any form of violence against polio workers. The Chief Minister instructed local authorities to review security measures for vaccination teams and support the affected health workers.

Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Asif Hyder Shah also emphasized the importance of protecting frontline workers, highlighting their critical role in safeguarding children from a preventable but debilitating disease.

Pakistan remains one of the last frontiers in the fight against the virus, which can cause lifelong paralysis and primarily affects children under five. The incident underscores the obstacles to combating the disease that remains endemic in only two countries worldwide: Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Despite decades of international support and local efforts, the country recorded 64 cases of polio this year, 18 of them in Sindh province. The Sindh government’s latest week-long campaign aims to immunize 10.6 million children under five.