QUETTA: Health officials in Balochistan have announced a major milestone in the fight against polio, revealing that no new cases of the disease have been reported in the province so far this year.
The announcement was made during a seminar held to mark World Polio Day. Senior health officials, including Special Secretary Shahak Baloch and the Coordinator of the Emergency Operations Centre, Inam-ul-Haq, credited the success to the tireless work of vaccination teams operating across the province.
While polio has been wiped out globally except for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Balochistan’s efforts are showing significant results. Officials reported that the virus is now only present in environmental samples from two of the province’s 23 districts—Lasbela and Chaman.
Special Secretary Shahak Baloch praised the dedication of health workers who have been vaccinating children “from the deserts of Chagai to the mountains of Zhob.” He stated that this achievement is a direct result of effective government policies and support from international partners.
Despite the progress, officials warned that the work is not yet complete. They emphasised that continued effort is needed to completely eradicate the virus from the two remaining districts and ensure Balochistan becomes permanently polio-free.
Meanwhile unknown gunmen opened fire on a polio campaign supervisor and local JUI-F leader, in Quetta’s Killi Thekedar area as he was raising awareness about the upcoming vaccination drive. He died on the spot. The attackers fled on a motorcycle. Police and residents shifted the body to Civil Hospital Quetta for post-mortem and launched an investigation.
