Officials in Pakistan say a police officer who was escorting polio workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province was shot dead by unidentified gunmen.
Health Department official Kamran Ali Afridi said on April 24 that the officer was killed in the town of Buner the previous day.
Another police officer was also shot and killed by unknown assailants in the northwestern district of Bannu as he was traveling to join a polio team. The motive for that incident is unclear.
Afridi also said two new polio cases have been reported in the northwest part of the country, despite the government's campaign to eradicate it.
Police also said a polio worker was stabbed in the city of Lahore after a heated argument with local residents. He was hospitalized.
Fundamentalist clerics and militants claim that government vaccination campaigns are part of a Western conspiracy to sterilize Pakistani children.
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria are the only three countries in the world that still suffer from endemic polio, which can cause paralysis or death.
Police Officer Killed While Protecting Anti-Polio Team In Pakistan
Editors' Picks
Afghanistan/Pakistan Trending
1
As US Ends Protected Status For Afghans, Thousands Face Deportation And Persecution
2Teenage TikTok Star's Killing Sparks Outrage Over Violence Against Women In Pakistan
3The Taliban's Latest Target? Religious Scholars Who Speak Out
4UN Alarmed By Surge In Deportations Of Afghan Families From Iran
5Trump's Travel Ban Deals New Blow To 'Stranded' Afghans
6Afghan Women Fear They Have Fallen Off West’s Radar Amid Global Conflicts, Aid Cuts
7A Doctor's Mission To Help At-Risk Infants And Mothers In Rural Pakistan
8Unreliable Medical Tests Force Afghans To Seek Treatment Abroad
9Afghan Survivors Speak Out: What The Taliban Does To Imprisoned Women
10Doctors Swamped With Malnourished Children At Afghan Hospital
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
