In a troubling incident in South Waziristan, Pakistan, a roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying officers assigned to protect health workers conducting a polio immunization drive. The attack resulted in injuries to six officers and three civilians, but fortunately, no polio workers were harmed.
Local police officials have confirmed that the attack, which took place in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, was aimed at the police officers accompanying the vaccination team. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident so far.
It is important to note that anti-polio campaigns in Pakistan have been consistently targeted by violence. Extremist groups often attack vaccination teams and security personnel, spreading false claims that the immunization efforts are part of a Western conspiracy to harm children.
This attack occurred shortly after Pakistan initiated a massive drive to vaccinate 30 million children against polio. The country has been facing challenges in eradicating the disease, with 17 new cases reported since the beginning of the year, posing a significant threat to the progress made in eliminating polio.
It is worth mentioning that Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the only countries where the transmission of polio has not been halted. The disease, which primarily affects children under the age of 5, spreads through contaminated water and can have severe, long-lasting consequences.
