Polio team attacked in Diamer

GILGT: A monitoring team involved in the ongoing anti-polio campaign in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) came under fire in the Tangir Shekho area of Diamer district on Monday, a day after a new case of polio detected in the area.

No casualties were reported in the incident, which officials say was triggered not by opposition to the polio campaign itself, but due to the public presence of female workers in the conservative region.

According to provincial government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq, the polio team had not coordinated their visit with the district administration or local police before entering Tangir, a move described as a lapse in protocol given the area’s sensitivity to gender norms.

“The firing was a reaction to the open presence of women, not an act of hostility toward the vaccination campaign,” Faraq clarified, urging polio teams to strictly follow communication and security protocols, particularly in socially conservative zones like Tangir.

The targeted team included Zonal In-charge Bilal, along with staffers Kainat, Adnan, and Iqbal — all of whom escaped unhurt. Following the incident, the team was shifted to a secure location.

Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan has taken notice of the incident and directed local authorities to enhance security measures for health workers across the province, said Faraq, adding the police have launched an investigation and registered a case against unknown assailants. The provincial government has also instructed law enforcement agencies to make immediate efforts to apprehend those involved.

Despite the attack, officials say the polio campaign will continue in Diamer and other districts, with a renewed focus on ensuring safety and coordination with local authorities. “The campaign will not be suspended. We are taking additional steps to safeguard field staff,” said Faraq.

In a related development, the Department of Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), carried out a detailed field investigation around a recently reported polio case in Gabbar, a union council in Tangir, Diamer.

The assessment covered a 500-metre radius around the index case. Key findings revealed that while most children had received both Routine Immunization (RI) and multiple rounds of the Special Immunization Activity (SIA), the infected child had never received routine doses—though he had been administered at least seven SIA doses.

Officials said the child’s father had traveled to Punjab for religious preaching (Tabligh) during Ramazan, raising concerns about possible virus exposure during travel. However, the child has since fully recovered and shows no signs of paralysis, likely due to partial immunity developed through SIA doses.

Stool samples tested at the Regional Reference Laboratory (RRL) in Islamabad confirmed the presence of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV-1). In light of this case, health officials have recommended strengthening Permanent Transit Points (PTPs) in Diamer, launching intensified immunization drives in Gabbar, ensuring rapid response to suspected polio cases, and retraining medical personnel to promptly report Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) cases.