Two cops guarding polio team martyred in Balochistan's Noshki

Two police officers providing security to a polio vaccination team were killed after unidentified armed men opened fire in Noshki district of Balochistan, officials said on Tuesday. The incident came as a week-long sub-national polio vaccination campaign was underway in 115 districts across Pakistan. More than 31 million children under the age of five were due to receive polio drops during the campaign, with activities focused on high-risk and hotspot areas in Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad, Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh. The attack took place in Killi Jamalabad, where police personnel had been deployed to protect the vaccination team. The two officers were identified as Muhammad Yasar and Abdul Rauf. The attackers fled with the officers’ official weapons after the shooting, officials said. Police subsequently cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to arrest those responsible. Balochistan Special Assistant on Home Affairs Babar Yousafzai confirmed the incident and condemned the attack, blaming Fitna al-Hindustan for the deaths. “Fitna al-Hindustan opened fire on two police personnel deployed to protect a polio team in Nushki and martyred them,” Yousafzai said. He said the attack on a polio team was effectively an attack on the future of children in Balochistan. “They do not want the children of Balochistan to move towards a healthy and secure future,” he said. Read: Fourth polio case of 2026 detected in K-P's Bannu Yousafzai said polio was a dangerous disease that could cause permanent disability in children, while vaccination was an effective means of preventing it. “Those who target polio teams are, in fact, trying to deprive the children of Balochistan of their right to health and a secure future,” he said. “Polio workers are going from door to door to protect our children from disease, and their security is the shared responsibility of the state and society. Children in Balochistan need education, health, peace and a bright future, not terrorism and disease,” he added. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the firing and expressed grief over the deaths of constables Muhammad Yasar and Abdul Rauf. Naqvi paid tribute to the two officers and offered condolences to their families. “Constables Yasar and Abdul Rauf attained the great rank of martyrdom while performing their duties,” Naqvi said. “Attacking a team working to secure the future of children is a heinous and unforgivable act by brutal elements. The beasts who attacked the anti-polio team deserve an exemplary punishment,” Naqvi added. وفاقی وزیرداخلہ محسن نقوی کی نوشکی کے علاقے میں انسداد پولیو ٹیم پر فائرنگ کی پرزور مذمت وزیرداخلہ کا فائرنگ سے دو کانسٹیبلز محمد یاسر اور عبدالروف کی شہادت پر اظہار افسوس وزیر داخلہ کا جام شہادت نوش کرنے والے کانسٹیبلز محمد یاسر اور عبدالروف کو خراج عقیدت — Ministry of Interior GoP (@MOIofficialGoP) September 22, 2026 It is pertinent to note that polio vaccination teams have been targeted in the past, including incidents reported in Quetta and several other districts of Balochistan, highlighting the persistent security challenges faced by frontline health workers and their protectors. Despite these threats, authorities have reiterated their commitment to continuing the anti-polio campaign and ensuring the safety of vaccination teams through enhanced security measures. Attacks on polio workers In May 2026, two officers were killed in separate attacks in Bajaur within a single day. Constable Syed Aziz was shot by unidentified gunmen in the Qila Nazakai area of Salarzai and died at the scene, while constable Syed Qadir Shah was shot while returning from polio duty in the village of Tabei and later died of his injuries. The attacks coincided with the launch of a week-long polio campaign across 79 high-risk districts, targeting more than 19 million children. On April 13, a police officer was killed, and four others were wounded when gunmen struck personnel protecting polio teams in Hangu, near Chapri Waziran, within the jurisdiction of Thall Police Station. The martyred officer was named Israrul Haq, a resident of Shangla who was undergoing police training; the Kohat deputy inspector general said police had killed two attackers in a retaliatory operation, though others escaped. Two days later, in Dera Murad Jamali, Balochistan, constable Farman Bashir Behrani was shot dead by armed men on a motorcycle while standing guard outside a house where a polio team was administering drops to children. Read more: Police officer martyred in attack on polio team in Chaman Earlier still, on February 6, a police officer guarding a polio team was fatally wounded when unidentified gunmen opened fire in the Roghani area of Chaman, Balochistan. The polio workers escaped unharmed, but the officer later succumbed to his injuries. Last year, similar attacks were reported through much of 2025. The year closed with an attack in Bajaur on 16 December, when constable Sajjad, assigned to protect polio workers, and a civilian were killed when armed attackers opened fire on the team in the Tangai area of Salarzai tehsil. In October 2025, three attacks struck K-P in as many days. Constable Maqsood, 35, was killed in the Kaahi area of Nizampur while female polio workers were administering drops inside a house; Levies constable Abdul Kabeer was shot dead in Swat district despite additional police deployed for security; and a further constable was killed in Nowshera, where a local police official said two armed terrorists had targeted the officer, killing him on the spot. At the end of May 2025, in Killi Jamalabad, Noshki — the same locality struck in the latest attack — officer Waheed Ahmed, part of the security detail protecting polio workers, was killed when unidentified assailants opened fire on the vaccination team. Polio persists in Pakistan Pakistan’s latest polio case was detected in an eight-month-old child in Bannu district, taking the national tally to four in 2026. The child was from Noor Union Council in Miryan tehsil, where vaccination teams had struggled to reach children consistently since 2025 because of security constraints. Three of the four cases reported this year have come from Bannu Division. The persistence of the virus has been linked to children missing vaccinations in areas where insecurity restricts access. While overall transmission had declined, poliovirus continued to circulate in southern K-P, with access constraints allowing children to miss critical doses. Pakistan recorded 74 cases in 2024 and 31 in 2025, after cases had fallen sharply in previous years. Security is therefore a major challenge for eradication efforts, with vaccination teams requiring protection to reach children in high-risk areas. The Express Tribune has also reported continuing concerns over vaccination gaps, community resistance and misinformation, while officials have stressed that children who are missed during campaigns remain vulnerable to infection. Also read: The dilemma of our polio workforce After a significant reduction in cases, from 147 in 2019 to just one in 2021, Pakistan has witnessed a resurgence. Since September 2023, there has been an increase in polio activity, particularly in Karachi. While overall poliovirus transmission in the country has been declining, with cases falling from 74 in 2024 to 31 in 2025 and three so far in 2026, reflecting the impact of high-quality vaccination drives, virus circulation in southern K-P persists. Polio is a highly contagious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis and, in some instances, death. However, the disease can be prevented through polio vaccines, which are safe and effective and have been used safely in 195 countries, including all Muslim countries.