Two on-duty polio workers abducted in Pakistan's KPK

Peshawar, May 26 (PTI) Unknown armed men abducted two on-duty polio workers in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province as a five-day immunisation drive against poliovirus began across Pakistan on Monday, police said.

The police said the polio workers were abducted while they were administering oral polio drops to children in the Dolat Koruna area of the Tank district.

A case has been registered and a search operation launched to apprehend the kidnappers, a police officer said.

According to the Pakistan Polio Programme, more than 45 million children up to five years of age will be administered polio vaccine and vitamin A drops during the campaign.

According to a statement, 400,000 polio workers will participate in the anti-polio campaign.

Earlier this week, two new polio cases were reported in Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bringing the number of children infected with the crippling virus this year to 10.

Five of the 10 reported cases were from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, besides Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic.

Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as safety issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation remain in eliminating the virus. PTI AYZ PY PY PY