Two policemen killed, four polio workers abducted in separate attacks in Pakistan

Two police officers deployed with an anti-polio vaccination team were killed, and another was injured in an armed ambush in Mohmand district, while four healthcare workers were abducted by unidentified gunmen in Tank district on Tuesday, dealing a severe blow to an ongoing immunization drive across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

What happened during deadly attack on polio escort in Mohmand?

According to District Police Officer (DPO) Raza Khan, unidentified armed assailants ambushed a police escort team in the Tamanzoo area of Pindiali tehsil in Mohmand district.

The personnel were travelling from their local police post toward Yakh Dand village to provide security cover for a field vaccination team when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle.

Two police personnel died on the spot from gunshot wounds, while a third officer sustained severe bullet injuries.

Emergency rescue units transported the injured policeman and the bodies of the deceased personnel to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Ghalanai. Security forces subsequently cordoned off the ambush site and initiated an area-clearance sweep to trace the attackers.

How were four vaccination workers abducted in Tank district?

In a parallel security breach in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four immunization workers administering oral polio drops were intercepted and kidnapped by armed men in Tank district.

Tank DPO Abdul Samad Khan confirmed that the workers were on active duty in Jivus village, located within the Sheikh Utar Union Council, when unidentified gunmen approached, held them at gunpoint, and forced them into an unknown location.

Police identified the abducted team members as Union Council Monitoring Officer (UCMO) Qadeer Khan, Area In-charge Usman Khan, and two community vaccinators, Umair and Sameer.

Law enforcement agencies and paramilitary formations launched an emergency cordon-and-search operation across adjoining rural tracts and exit routes connecting Tank with neighboring tribal districts to secure the workers' safe release.

How have authorities responded and what is broader threat to Pakistan's polio drive?

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned both attacks, expressing deep sorrow over the martyrdom of the police personnel in Mohmand and calling for swift, coordinated measures by law enforcement to recover the abducted workers in Tank.

Kundi underscored that frontline vaccinators are performing a critical national duty to safeguard children's health, emphasizing that state security for health workers remains paramount and that violent attacks on vaccination personnel run contrary to humanity and national welfare.

While no militant organization immediately claimed responsibility for the abduction or the ambush, the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and affiliated factions have historically targeted immunisation personnel and security escorts across the frontier districts.

According to data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 47 attacks on polio workers have been documented in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2020, resulting in nine deaths, seven injuries, and more than 15 abductions.

The dual security incidents occurred during the first day of a four-day synchronized anti-polio campaign across 27 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which aims to vaccinate 4.8 million children under five years of age.

The provincial Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) noted that 20,772 field teams were deployed alongside approximately 30,000 security personnel to safeguard the drive.

The security crisis coincided with the EOC's confirmation of another wild poliovirus case in Khyber district—marking the district's second case and the province's sixth this year, raising Pakistan's nationwide count to eight.