Two assigned security personnel to protect a polio vaccination team were shot dead in an objective attack on Wednesday in the Mastung district in Baluchistan.
The ambush took place in the Mastung district, where Levones force members were protecting a health team that administered oral polio vaccines as part of a national campaign, said Express News.
According to Levies officials, unidentified gunmen opened fire against officers without prior notice. The deceased were transported to a local hospital, and a search operation was launched in the area.
No group immediately attributed the responsibility of the shooting.
Attacks against polyomyelitis equipment and their security details have occurred intermittently in Pakistan, one of the few countries where the virus remains endemic.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the assault, expressing pain for deaths and extending prayers for victims and their families.
“Those who damage innocent people and interrupt public health efforts are enemies of humanity,” Sharif said in a statement, promising to take perpetrators before justice.
He reaffirmed the government’s determination to eradicate Pakistan’s polyomyelitis, stating: “Such incidents will not weaken our resolution.”
The prime minister asked the parents to make sure that their children receive drops of polyomyelitis to ensure their future, and said that the national campaign would proceed with all its strength.
Polyomyelitis workers and their security escorts have often been attacked, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan.
In 2024, at least 20 people died and 53 wounds in similar incidents during vaccination units against Polyomyelitis in KP.
