'No justice, no protection': Pakistani police boycott security duties amid militant attacks - Video
Over 100 police officers in Pakistan have gone on strike following a series of deadly attacks on polio vaccination teams.
These officers, who provide crucial security for the vaccination efforts, are protesting the increasing violence that has claimed the lives of their colleagues and polio workers.
On Monday, September 9, a bomb attack on a polio vaccination team injured nine people, an incident claimed by the Islamic State group.
Additionally, at least two police officers and one polio worker have been shot dead in separate attacks since the start of the latest vaccination drive.
These attacks are part of a broader pattern of violence targeting polio workers and their security escorts, primarily in the restive border areas near Afghanistan.
" "We are boycotting (providing security for) the polio campaign. We demand that the killer of our martyred policemen be arrested before more policemen are killed in the future. We demand the arrest of all the killers," said Habib Ullah Wazir, a Bannu Policeman.
The strike and ongoing violence pose a significant challenge to Pakistan's polio eradication efforts. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where polio remains endemic, despite extensive vaccination campaigns. This year, Pakistan has recorded 17 polio cases, a sharp increase from six cases in 2023.
Health officials had aimed to vaccinate 30 million children in a week-long campaign, but the strike and security concerns have disrupted these plans.
