Militants attack police van escorting polio vaccination team in Pakistan

Peshawar: Militants on Friday attacked a police van escorting a polio vaccination team in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said.

However, there was no casualty reported. The incident occurred in the Gul Imam area of Tank district where the polio team was conducting door-to-door oral vaccinations.

The attackers, riding motorcycles, fired at the police van, causing partial damage to the vehicle, but the policemen guarding the team swiftly responded, forcing the gunmen to flee.

A combing operation has been launched to apprehend the culprits involved in the attack.

Polio vaccination efforts in Pakistan are facing immense challenges as anti-polio campaigns are consistently plagued by violence. Militants are targeting vaccination teams and their police escorts, fuelled by false claims that these campaigns are part of a Western conspiracy to sterilise children.

The situation is dire, with Pakistan reporting over 17 new polio cases since January, undermining decades of progress toward polio elimination.

Polio mainly affects children under 5, spreading through contaminated water. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio transmission remains unchecked.