Two polio workers abducted in Tank as nationwide polio drive begins

A health worker administers polio drops to a child on the first day of a poliovirus eradication campaign in Karachi.—AFP

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Two polio workers were abducted by armed assailants in Tank district here on Monday as a five-day polio campaign kicked off across the country.

The workers were performing their duties in the Dolat Koruna area of Tank as part of the ongoing vaccination drive.

The abducted workers identified as a Union Council official, Sifat Khan, and his colleague Hizbullah.

According to police sources, both health workers were on duty when unidentified armed men abducted them and took them to an undisclosed location.

Minister calls upon nation to stand united against polio as it did against India

Soon after the incident, police launched a search operation in the surrounding areas to trace the abductors and recover the kidnapped workers.

According to the KP he­­­­a­lth department spo­k­e­sperson, during this five-day campaign, nearly 7.3 million children under the age of five will be administered polio drops across the province.

While addressing a news conference in Islamabad, Minister for Health Syed Mustafa Kamal has suggested the nation to get united against the polio just like it did during the tension and war with India earlier this month.

He visited the National Emergency Opera­tions Centre (NEOC) on the first day of the nationwide polio campaign, targeting approximately 45.4 million children under the age

of five. This year, Pakistan and Afghanistan are conducting simultaneous polio cam-paigns — an unprecedented joint effort — while the rest of the world has already eliminated the disease.

Mr Kamal administered polio drops and provided additional vitamin A supplements to children, paying tribute to the frontline polio workers. He acknowledged their dedicated services and called upon parents across the country to fully cooperate by ensuring their children receive the vaccine.

The minister urged all parents with folded hands to understand that vaccination was essential for their children’s health and future.

He said every person has to play role for the eradication of virus of crippling disease.

“Polio remains an incurable disease, unlike cancer, which can be treated, and that only through vaccination children can be protected from lifelong disability. Out of Pakistan’s 89 districts, 50 have reported the presence of poliovirus in environmental samp­l­­es.

This enemy virus is pre­­sent everywhere arou­­nd children so communities should dispel misinformation and negative notions that hinder immunisation efforts,“ he said.

“Polio eradication is one of the foremost priorities of the government of Pakistan,” Mr Kamal aff­irmed.

“If a child becomes disabled due to polio, parents will bear responsibility before God. We must unite as a nation, just as we stood firm against India, to defeat polio.”

Encouraging community participation, the minister noted positive outcomes from recent campaigns in Karachi, where a significant reduction is witnessed in refusal cases. He called upon people to join hands in the mission to secure a safe and healthy future for the children of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Ikram Junaidi in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2025

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